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PUBLISHED BY 

G^OTJH.r) .^NID LINCOLN, BOSTON. 

I. 

THE ELEMENTS OF MORAL SCIENCE. 12mo. Cloth 1.50 

II. 
THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. 12mo. Cloth. 1.50 

&0r The above works also abridged by the Author for Schools, etc. 
ISmo. 60 cts. Cheap edition of the Moral Science, 38 cts. 



III. 

THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT COLLEGIATE SYSTEM 

IN THE UNITED STATES. 16mo. Cloth 62 



rv. 

SALVATION BY CHRIST : A Series of Discourses on the Im- 
portant Doctrines of the Gospel. 12mo. Cloth 1 .25 

V. 
LETTERS ON THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 16mo. 



LETTERS 



MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 



FRANCIS WAYLAND. 
It 



BOSTON: 

QOULD AND LINCOLN, 

59 "WASHINGTON STREET. 

NEW YORK: SHELDON AND COMPANY. 
CINCINNATI : GEORGE S. BLANCHARD. 

1863. 



, LOSS 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, 
By FRANCIS WAYLAND, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Khode Island. 



XG 



ELECTROTYPED BY 
W. F. DRAPER, ANDOVER, MA£ 






-J 



&0 

DEACON HEM AN LINCOLN, 

%%m £*ta, 

WRITTEN AT HIS URGENT SOLICITATION, 
ARE RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED, 

BY 
HIS FRIEND AND BROTHER, 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER I. 

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT. 

MINISTRY OP THE PRESENT TIME COMPARED WITH THAT WHICH 
PRECEDED IT — EXCELLENCES AND DEFICIENCIES OP EACH — 
CAN WE NOT SECURE THE BENEFITS AND AVOID THE EVILS OF 
BOTH?— MISTAKES OF OLD MEN IN TAKING A VIEW OF A SUB- 
JECT OF THIS KIND — IS THERE ANY STANDARD BY WHICH THE 
MINISTRY CAN BE JUDGED? 13 



LETTER II. 

A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 

THE NEW TESTAMENT FURNISHES SUCH A STANDARD — THE WAY 
OF SALVATION BY CHRIST — THE MINISTER'S RELATION TO IT — 
HOW IS A MAN CALLED TO THE MINISTRY? — PROPER EVI- 
DENCES OF SUCH A CALL — GENERAL AGREEMENT ON THIS 
SUBJECT OF ALL CHURCHES WHO ACCEPT THE] DOCTRINES OF 
THE REFORMATION, ......... 24 



VIII CONTENTS. 

LETTER III. 

THE MINISTRY NOT A PROFESSION. 

IS THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL A PROFESSION ? — IN WHAT 
SENSE IT IS AND IN WHAT SENSE IT IS NOT— THE MINISTER IS 
AN AGENT, BUT HIS PRINCIPAL IS NOT MAN, BUT ALMIGHTY 
GOD — PAUL'S REVIEW OP HIS MINISTRY AT EPHESUS — THE 
REWARDS OP THE MINISTRY NOT TEMPORAL BUT ETERNAL — 
APOSTOLICAL AND PROFESSIONAL MINISTRY CONTRASTED — AN 
EXAMPLE — THE MINISTER A STEWARD — AN AMBASSADOR — 
HIS SOLEMN RESPONSIBILITY, ,♦...,. 36 



LETTER IV. 

PREACHING THE GOSPEL.— THE CONVERSION OF 
SINNERS. 

THE APOSTLE PAUL'S VIEW OF PREACHING — HOW CAN THIS 
DUTY BE DISCHARGED? — WHAT IS A TEXT? — WHAT USE ARE WE 
ALLOWED TO MAKE OF IT? — TWO EXAMPLES — THE REASON FOR 
A TEXT AT ALL IS THAT IT CONTAINS AN IDEA OF GOD — IT IS 
THIS IDEA WHICH MUST BE SET BEFORE THE PEOPLE — MORAL 
AND INTELLECTUAL PREPARATION — THE PREPARATION OF THE 
HEART OF MORE CONSEQUENCE THAN THE PREPARATION OF THE 
SERMON — WHAT MAY BE EXPECTED WHEN THIS PREPARATION 
IS UNIVERSAL, . * . . '61 



CONTENTS. IX 

LETTEK V. 

PREACHING. — THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 

LABOR FOR THE CONVERSION OP SINNERS AND FOR THE ESTABLISH- 
MENT OF BELIEVERS NOT SO DISSIMILAR AS MANY SUPPOSE — 
CHRISTIANS MAY BE EDIFIED BY DOCTRINAL, EXPERIMENTAL, 
AND PRACTICAL PREACHING — DOCTRINAL PREACHING — CHRIS- 
TIANS GROW IN GRACE BY INCREASED KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH 

— LEGH RICHMOND — EXPOSITORY PREACHING — ITS ADVAN- 
TAGES—EXPERIMENTAL PREACHING — EVIDENCES OF CHRIS- 
TIAN CHARACTER'— PRACTICAL PREACHING — MEN SIN THROUGH 
IGNORANCE, WHICH PREACHING OUGHT TO DISPEL — EXAMPLE 

— CHALMERS, 77 



LETTER VI. 

MANNER OF PREACHING. 



MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTER OF OUR AUDIENCE — YET ALL AGREE 
IN ONE COMMON NEED— THE MINISTER SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD 
BY ALL — WORDS TO BE USED — FOSTER'S ESSAY —STYLE SHOULD 
BE A SPOKEN AND NOT A WRITTEN STYLE — DEMOSTHENES — 
OUR MISTAKE IN SUBSTITUTING WRITTEN FOR SPOKEN SERMONS 
— THE MORAL CONDITION OF THE MINISTER AS CULTIVATED BY 
THE TWO METHODS OF ADDRESS — WRITTEN SERMONS OFTEN 
EXTEMPORE — EXTEMPORE POWER NO SPECIAL GIFT — OBJEC- 



£ CONTENTS. 

TIONS TO WRITTEN PREPARATION — IT PRODUCES A WRITTEN 
STYLE, DESTROYS THE TONES OF EMOTION, AND PRODUCES MO- 
NOTONY IN DELIVERY — CAUSES OP THE PREVALENCE OP THIS 
MODE OP PREACHING — PLACE OP SETTLEMENT TO BE SOUGHT 
BY A YOUNG MINISTER — THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION — DOES IT 
ACCOMPLISH WHAT WAS EXPECTED PROM IT? — MAY IT NOT 
NEED IMPROVEMENT?— CHANGES SUGGESTED, . . .105 



LETTER VII. 

PASTORAL VISITATION.' 

WHAT IS PASTORAL VISITATION? — IMPORTANCE OP PERSONAL 
CONVERSATION ON THE SUBJECT OP RELIGION — ILLUSTRATIONS 
— BOTH SINNERS AND SAINTS NEED IT — OPPORTUNITIES VARI- 
OUS FOR THE DISCHARGE OF THIS DUTY — BENEFITS OF IT — 
EFFECT ON THE CHURCH — DEAD CHURCHES — OB JECTION — THE 
WANT OF TIME, 138 



LETTER VIII. 

OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 

OBJECT FOR WHICH THE CHURCH WAS INSTITUTED —ARE CHURCH- 
ES LABORING TO ACCOMPLISH THIS OBJECT? — THE DUTY OF A 
PASTOR IN THIS RESPECT — CHURCH AT HAMBURG — IMPORTANCE 



CONSENTS. XI 

OP DISCRIMINATION IN THE QUESTION OF PERSONAL PIETY — 
EFFECT OF DISCIPLINE AND ITS IMPORTANCE — POWER OF CHRIS- 
TIAN EXAMPLE— EFFECT ON A PREACHER — DUTY OF A MINIS- 
TER IN CASE OF DISCIPLINE — STANDING COMMITTEES — OBJEC- 
TIONS TO THEM — CHURCH AND SOCIETY — NATURE OF THE 
RELATION— DISADVANTAGES OF IT — EFFECT ON PREACHING — 
EVILS NOT ALWAYS FELT, BUT ALWAYS LIABLE TO ARISE — 
INSTANCE — NATURE OF A CHURCH FORBIDS THIS RELATION — 
THE REMEDY — OB JECTIONS CONSIDERED — TASTE AND IMAGINA- 
TION—POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT — CHURCH SHOULD BE RE- 
SPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE EXPENSES OF WORSHIP, . . 157 



LETTER IX. 

MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 

IMPORTANCE OF EXAMPLE — ANALOGOUS CASES — A PHYSICIAN — 
AN AMBASSADOR — MINISTERIAL INCONSISTENCY — TONE OF 
CHARACTER — AMUSEMENTS — EXAMPLE OF CHRIST — W. ALLEN 
AND S. GRELLET — EFFECT ON THE YOUNG — EFFECT ON PREACH- 
ING, 184 



LETTER X. 

PERSONAL EXPLANATION. — CONCLUSION. 

WAS THE AUTHOR SUCH A MINISTER AS HE RECOMMENDS OTHERS 
TO BE? —HOW HE DISCHARGED HIS DUTY TO BE LEARNED, FIRST, 



XII CONTENTS. 

PROM HIS PEOPLE; SECOND, PROM HIS CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE 
SIGHT OP GOD— PERSONAL CONFESSION — ERROR IN LEAVING 
TEE MINISTRY —LATER PASTORAL EXPERIENCE — CONDITION OP 
THIS COUNTRY — ITS POLITICAL CONDITION OWING TO THE WANT 
OP PRINCIPLE IN RELIGIOUS MEN — INTEMPERANCE — MAXIMS 
OP TRADE— WHO IS TO BLAME POR ALL THIS? — WHAT IS TO 
BE DONE? 197 



MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 



LETTER I. 

MINISTRY OF THE PRESENT AND OF THE PAST 
COMPARED. 



My Dear Brother; 

XTOU and I have frequently conversed on the 
-*- subject of the Christian Ministry. We have 
compared the ministry of the present day with that 
of years long gone by. It has appeared to us 
both, that an important change has come over 
the character and labors of those who appear 
before men as the messengers of reconciliation. 
We seem to observe this in all denominations, but 
especially in that to which we belong. We have 
in the pulpit far more correct rhetoric than for- 
merly ; our ministers are better dressed, and much 
more familiar with the usages of society. The 
illustrations employed show that the preacher is 
familiar with modern literature, especially the 
literature of the English language. The terms 
of science and allusions to recent discovery are 



14 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

frequently used, either to enforce or explain the 
truths of the gospel. The worship of God by 
singing, accompanied by costly instruments, is fre- 
quently performed by salaried professional artists. 
Everything is in the highest degree decorous 
and proper. You may attend upon one of 
our churches for months without any danger of 
being offended by a single instance of false 
grammar. But little moral emotion is however 
aroused, nor does it seem to be much expected. 
On special occasions, on leaving the house of God 
you may hear the sermon applauded in terms 
such as these : " What a noble effort ! " " That 
was a beautifully written discourse : " " What a 
brilliant train of thought ! " " That sermon ought 
to be published ; it would give reputation to our 
society." The sermon, however, excites no partic- 
ular discussion. It gives rise to small self-inspec- 
tion. No man asks himself, What have I done, 
or, What shall I do to be saved ? It is a very rare 
occurrence for any hearer to be convicted by a 
sermon, or to be led by it to the cross of Christ. 
Such a result, as the immediate effect of preaching, 
seems neither to be labored for, nor anticipated. 
Of those who attend the worship of God, I fear 
that the greater part go because it has been their 
custom from youth. Some go for the respecta- 
bility of the thing, others for the purpose of 



PRESENT AND PAST COMPARED. 15 

setting a good example, and all go expecting to 
hear a discourse on some serious subject to which 
a text from the Bible has been prefixed. This 
discourse is accurately written, and pleasantly 
delivered; tinged, it may be, with a reference 
to passing events, and sometimes with an allu- 
sion to authors that happen to be in vogue. If 
all this is successfully performed ; if a fair propor- 
tion of the audience is wealthy and occupy a prom- 
inent position in society; if they pay their pew-tax 
freely and contribute respectably to the ordinary 
associations for benevolence; if they take good 
care of their minister, and provide liberally for his 
various seasons of recreation, the church is deemed 
to be in a flourishing condition. All this goes on 
year after year, and men seem hardly to suspect 
that these services were intended by Almighty 
God to be the means of rescuing them from hell 
and preparing them for heaven. The most that 
is accomplished is the pleasant occupation of the 
hour. Those who profess to be the disciples of 
Christ, and those who make no such profession, 
are equally at ease under the guidance of one who 
has assumed the care of their souls ; while all are 
rapidly drawing near to the judgment-bar, and 
the great majority under the condemnation of the 
second death. 

Sabbath schools commenced within the period 



16 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

of our recollection, and they have since become 
universal. They have received the blessing of 
God, and from them come almost all the converts 
whose profession of faith gladdens the hearts of the 
pious. I sometimes fear, nevertheless, that even 
these are losing their efficiency as a means of 
moral training. I sometimes think that too much 
time is spent on incidentals, and not enough in the 
direct effort to bring souls to Christ. Geography, 
biography, and such subjects are liable to take 
the place of the doctrines of repentance and faith 
in Christ. Instead of acting mainly for the benefit 
of those who have no parents to instruct them, 
they in too many instances act mainly for the 
benefit of the members of the church and society; 
that is, for those whose parents would be greatly 
improved by teaching them themselves. The 
Sabbath school, however conducted, is coming to 
be considered the great means of the conversion 
of the world. The conversion of children is 
expected and prayed for. The conversion of 
adults is hardly anticipated, and very few means 
are taken to secure it. It would seem as if we 
were content, without an effort, to see them 
quietly pursuing the road which we know must 
lead to everlasting death. 

Now we have known, in our early days, a very 
different condition of the ministry and the 



PRESENT AND PAST COMPARED. 17 

churches. We had then no magnificent, or even 
elegant, houses of worship. Our meeting-houses 
were frequently in out-of-the-way places, and diffi- 
cult of access. They were at variance with taste, 
and by no means studious of comfort. We had 
no expensive instruments of music, and our sing- 
ing was not at all of a high order; sometimes 
it was quite the reverse. The members of our 
churches were, for the most part, persons in the 
middle or lower walks of life. They had not the 
means of luxurious or expensive dress ; and from 
this, or for better reasons, their dress was plain. 
I say for better reasons, for it was a common 
sentiment that it was unbecoming a disciple of 
Christ to acknowledge submission to the customs 
of the world, besides being injurious to a heavenly 
life. The social intercourse of the disciples of 
Christ was to a great degree confined to each other, 
and their conversation at these meetings was very 
commonly on the subject of religion. An evening 
spent in trivial conversation was considered as time 
wholly lost, and it left in the hearts of Christians a 
feeling of self-condemnation. In general, I think, 
it may be remarked that religion was a power which 
controlled the conduct of Christians in the various 
details of living, expenditure, and daily intercourse, 
much more than it is supposed to be at present. 
Our ministry was of a much more diversified 
2 



18 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

character than it has been of later years. But few 
of our preachers had enjoyed the advantages of a 
classical education ; and it was sometimes thought 
that these were not, in general, more efficient la- 
borers than their brethren. In fact, there was, for 
a considerable period within my recollection, a 
prejudice against an educated ministry. It was 
supposed that an education far in advance of their 
brethren induced a reliance upon learning rather 
than on the Spirit of God. This was frequently 
carried to a ludicrous extreme. Some people be- 
lieved that a man should not prepare for the pulpit 
by studying at all ; and ministers would sometimes, 
in the way of boasting, declare at the commence- 
ment of a discourse that they did not know until 
they entered the pulpit from what text they should 
address the audience. The result was such as 
might be expected. They either spoke at random, 
without any object, and tending to no result, or 
else they had become familiar with one or two 
trains of thought, which they easily feH into, no 
matter what text they might happen to select. Not 
an uncommon feature in the preaching of the last 
generation, was a peculiar sing-song tone, which 
many ministers, and even educated men, were liable 
to contract. This has so entirely passed away from 
us that but few can understand what it is to which 
I refer. I believe that it still lingers in some por- 



PRESENT AND PAST COMPARED. 19 

tions of our country, especially among the Society 
of Friends. It was a very unpleasant, vehement 
sort of chanting, entirely artificial, and wholly at 
variance with any effort at good delivery. I am 
rather of the opinion that young extempore speak- 
ers were liable to fall into this habit from addressing 
large congregations, of which they stood in great 
fear. This sing-song took the place of that self- 
possession without which proper emphasis and the 
natural tones of emotion cannot exist ; and when 
the habit was once formed, it generally continued 
through life. I have heard able and earnest ser- 
mons which have been rendered utterly distasteful 
by this vicious habit of delivery. Let us be thank- 
ful that this is a thing of the past. 

Most of our ministers had received in youth the 
culture derived from common schools, and their 
acquisitions were more commonly made after their 
attention had been turned to the ministry. Occa- 
sionally they were wanting in taste, and in due 
appreciation of the relation existing between them- 
selves and their audience. Their modes of expres- 
sion and topics of illustration would sometimes 
grate Sadly upon the ear ; still there was decided 
power in their simple, honest earnestness. Others, 
of a more delicate mould, easily accommodated 
themselves to the circumstances in which they were 
placed. One of them, the late Rev. Alfred Bennet, 



20 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

has told ine how he employed the time redeemed 
from labor, in studies at night by the light of pine 
knots ; and how assiduously he attended courts in 
his neighborhood, for the purpose of observing the 
practice of lawyers, so that from them he might 
learn the best modes of public speaking, and the 
most successful manner of forming a popular ar- 
gument. He became one of the best and most 
effective ministers and counsellors; and there is 
scarcely one of our number who was listened to 
with more general acceptance, or to whom the 
cause of missions is under greater obligations. 

It will be seen at once that such ministrations as 
these would not be attractive to the rich, to men 
of specially literary tastes, or men studious of so- 
cial position. Men, women, and children inquiring 
what they should do to be saved ; saints under 
doubts of the soundness of their hope of salvation, 
or striving to know how they might make progress 
in piety, however, flocked to hear them. In the 
country, as they preached when on a journey, or 
on a missionary tour, they were followed by such 
persons from school-house to school-house, and their 
labors were very commonly attended by a blessing. 
The plain, earnest ambassador of Christ spake out 
of the fulness of his heart, and as the Saviour 
promised : " He that believeth in me, out of him 
shall flow rivers of living water." Both ministers 



PRESENT AND PAST COMPARED. 21 

and people were content to be considered peculiar, 
and unlike the men who were living for this world. 
When sneered at and ridiculed, they believed it 
to be a fulfilment of the words of the Saviour : 
" Marvel not if the world hate you : if ye were of 
the world, the world would love its own ; but be- 
cause ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you 
out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." 
Yet the men who scoffed at what they esteemed 
their odious preciseness, confessed that they were 
honest and true-minded; that their word was as 
good as their bond ; and if in alarming sickness 
they felt the need of prayer, or if in anguish on 
account of their sins they desired to know what 
they should do to be saved, these very outlandish 
disciples of Christ were the very persons whom 
they sought after. In fact, our brethren of the 
former generation were a people of a somewhat 
rugged character, having but little to do with the 
great world, and the more time to devote to reli- 
gion : ready to bear their portion of the burdens of 
society, and forward, according to the standard of 
the time, in extending the knowledge of Christ ; 
but neither seeking for the rewards of office, nor 
indeed were they often tempted by the offer of 
them. They stood aloof from political agitation. 
When a Christian man became a politician, it was a 
source of alarm to his brethren. I well remember 



22 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

to have heard it remarked, that since such or such 
a brother had become a politician, his Christian 
character and his interest in religion had sadly 
deteriorated ; and his brethren feared that it would 
lead to his final apostasy. 

If I have succeeded at all in conveying an idea 
of the character of our brethren in a former gene- 
ration, it must be evident that in many important 
respects it differed from that of Christians of the 
present day. We have doubtless cast aside many 
of their errors, but may we not also have cast off 
many of their excellences ? In swinging away from 
one extreme, have we not been in danger of vibrat- 
ing towards the other ? Might we not have avoided 
needless singularity, without in any respect lower- 
ing the standard of Christian character ? While 
abstaining from giving cause of offence to the 
educated and cultivated, might we not still make 
it manifest, that though we are in the world we 
are not of the world, but in all conditions, and 
under all circumstances, we are never anything 
but witnesses for Christ? Let us consider this 
subject in the pure light of the word of God, and, 
I think, wisdom will be justified of her children. 

It may be supposed that in speaking of the gene- 
ration that has lately passed away, and also of that 
now living, I have fallen into exaggeration. If this 
be so, it is unintentional. The observation of one 



PRESENT AND PAST COMPARED, 23 

individual must be limited, and what may be true 
of one portion of our country may not be true of 
another. He can only tell of what has come under 
his own eyes, while the eyes of others may have 
taken a very different view. And besides, in look- 
ing over the events of their youth, and comparing 
them with the present, old men are particularly 
liable to error. The caution of the wise man on 
this subject is always to be held in memory by us 
who are advancing in years : " Say not thou what 
is the cause that the former days were better than 
these, for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning 
this." We are as liable to err in this respect as 
other men. We may, after all, be looking at this 
subject through the misty atmosphere which so 
commonly encompasses old age. Let us then throw 
aside our individual experiences, and ask, Is the 
case then closed ? Is there no standard to which 
it is possible to appeal ? If the present condition 
of the ministry and of the churches may not be 
compared with that of the period which preceded 
it, is there nothing by which its excellence or de- 
ficiency may be estimated ? Let us consider this 
in another letter. 

Yours, truly. 



LETTER II. 



A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 



My Dear Brother: 

I THINK we may easily answer the questions 
at the close of my last letter in the affirmative. 
We need not ask whether the ministry of the 
present day is either better or worse than that of 
any other period. This inquiry does not reach the 
root of the matter. The only question of real im- 
portance is this : Is the ministry actually fulfilling 
the great purpose for which it was appointed ? If 
it be anything more than a human device, it is 
an ordinance of God ; and its character, and the 
objects of its institution, are to be learned from 
the pages of revelation. If the ministry is at 
present doing the work assigned to it in the New 
Testament, we need not ask whether or not it 
differs from that of a former generation. If it is 
not doing that work, and is becoming in any de- 
gree forgetful of the great object for which it was 
established, it is important that the facts should 
be known, and that we all should labor earnestly 
for its improvement. 



A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 25 

Let us briefly recur to the facts which are com- 
monly believed among us, and which are either 
plainly stated, or obviously taken for granted, on 
every page of the New Testament. 

The New Testament, as we believe, distinctly 
teaches us that the whole race of man is in rebel- 
lion against the high and holy Ruler of the universe. 
Supreme love, that golden chain which unites all 
holy beings to God, is severed, and men " do not 
like to retain God in their knowledge." They are 
opposed to the pure and omniscient government of 
the Creator, and thus "the carnal heart is enmity 
against God." Truths respecting the claims of 
God and their obligations to him make no impres- 
sion on the impenitent soul, any more than appeals 
to the senses affect a body from which the spirit 
has departed ; or, in the language of the Scriptures, 
" they are dead in trespasses and sins." A being in 
such a moral condition can never be justified by his 
own merits ; and therefore the law of God, holy, 
just, and good, can do nothing but utter his con- 
demnation : for " by the law is the knowledge of 
sin," and "by the deeds of the law can no flesh be 
justified." A being thus at enmity with God must, 
unless something interpose, be banished from his 
presence, and such banishment is eternal death. 

In this our condition of helpless guilt, God, in 
unfathomable love, interposed and wrought out a 



26 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

way of salvation by which our sins might be par- 
doned, and our souls cleansed from moral pollution. 
" God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life." This 
salvation is prepared for the whole human race, and 
it is freely offered to all. Every one who has him- 
self accepted of it, is commanded to make known 
the good news to his brethren. " Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature ; 
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, 
and he that believeth not shall be damned." " The 
Spirit and the bride say, come ; and let him that 
heareth say, come ; and let him that is athirst come; 
and whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely." To every one who hears the gospel, the 
gate of heaven is as wide open as the gate of hell. 
The duty of proclaiming this message of salva- 
tion is thus imposed upon every disciple of Christ. 
But lest, from the pressure of temporal business, it 
should be neglected, the Saviour has in every age 
chosen men out of the company of disciples, whose 
special calling it shall be, to labor for the conversion 
of souls. This was one part of the work for which 
the Son of God became incarnate ; and he said to 
his ministers, " As my Father hath sent me, so send 
I you." The qualifications for the ministry are, by 
the Apostle Paul, spoken of as among the gifts 



A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 27 

which the Saviour, at his ascension, bestowed 
upon his disciples. 

Thus the minister of Christ is a man appointed 
for a special service. The qualifications for his 
office are conferred on him by the ascended Saviour; 
and the matter of his teaching, and the object to be 
accomplished by it, are plainly set before him, in the 
word of God. Beyond these he cannot go; and if 
he does, he is preaching himself, and not Christ 
Jesus, his Lord. 

I have said that God appoints men to this office, 
and hence it differs materially from any other trade 
or occupation. The latter a man may assume for 
his own convenience, or profit, or taste, or love of 
ease. The former is by the appointment of God ; 
and unless he be moved by the Spirit of God he 
may not undertake it. 

But in what way does God appoint men to the 
ministry of the gospel ? That he does appoint 
them in some manner, is, I think, evident from the 
passage just alluded to, where the apostle speaks 
of ministerial gifts as among the blessings be- 
stowed on his church, in consequence of the ascen- 
sion of Christ. 

I answer : God, in the first place, qualifies men 
for this office by making them disciples of Christ, 
his renewed and obedient children, heirs of ever- 
lasting life. We can never suppose that God 



28 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

would employ men who are his enemies, in rebel- 
lion against him, to persuade others to be recon- 
ciled to him ; that is, to do what they steadfastly 
refuse to do themselves. Unless a man have 
within himself the evidence that he has been born 
again, he has no right to enter the ministry. And 
on the other hand, unless a man give evidence by 
a Christian life that he is, in heart, a true disciple 
of Christ, no body of believers can, without sin, 
call him to the ministry. 

The qualifications needful for the ministry are 
mentioned by the Apostle Paul, in his epistles to 
Timothy and to Titus. They are in these words : 
" A bishop (or, as it is in Titus, an elder) must be 
blameless ; the husband of one wife ; vigilant ; 
sober ; self-restrained ; of good behavior ; given 
to hospitality ; apt to teach ; not given to wine ; 
no striker ; not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient ; 
not a brawler ; not covetous ; one that ruleth well 
his own house, having his children in subjection 
with all gravity ; not a novice, lest, being lifted up 
with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the 
devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of 
them that are without, lest he Ml into reproach 
and the snare of the devil." Many of these quali- 
fications have reference to the temptations of hea- 
thenism, to which the first disciples were greatly 
exposed. We cannot, however, read this passage 



A CALL TO TEE MINISTRY. 29 

without observing that the apostle demands of a 
candidate for the ministry the evidence of estab- 
lished, consistent piety ; a piety that shall manifest 
itself not only to his brethren, but to all that are 
without ; and that in addition he be endowed with 
aptness to teach, or a capacity to instruct others, 
or the gift of public address. These qualifications 
were certainly quite unlike those commonly re- 
quired by us in a candidate for the ministry. In 
explanation of this dissimilarity, it is common to 
refer to the difference of civilization which exists 
between the age of the apostles and our own. I 
cannot but suppose that this difference has been 
much exaggerated. The time of the apostles was 
toward the close of a period distinguished for 
writings which have for centuries been the classics 
of the civilized world. Rome, Corinth, Athens, 
Ephesus, Antioch, and Tarsus were, I apprehend, 
as cultivated, as acute, as tasteful, and as luxurious 
as London, Paris, New York, Boston, or Philadel- 
phia ; yet the directions for ordaining pastors were 
given with reference to several of those very 
places. -* 

The Scriptures teach us, that when a man comes 
to us with a message from God, he must be moved 
to do so by God himself. The prophets who bore 
to the Jewish people warnings, or exhortations, or 
promises of forgiveness, always declared that they 



SO MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

spake the words which were given them of God, 
and that they desired to speak nothing else. The 
apostles refer to their preaching in the same man- 
ner. St. Paul glories in the fact that, by exceeding 
grace, he was selected of God to be the dispenser 
of the riches of the gospel to the Gentiles. Nor 
was this confined to the apostles : the same Holy 
Spirit appointed to the work of the ministry the 
ordinary overseers or elders of the churches. Thus 
said Paul to the elders of the church of Ephesus, 
whom he met at Miletus : " Take heed, therefore, 
to yourselves, and to all the flock over which the 
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the 
church of God, which he hath purchased with his 
own blood." The same doctrine was held by the 
reformers, as may be seen from the Book of Prayer 
of the Episcopal Church. In the ordination of 
deacons, the bishop demands of the candidate: 
" Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the 
Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and minis- 
tration, to serve God for the promotion of his 
glory, and the edifying of his people?" The can- 
didate must answer : " I trust so." I suppose this 
to be the uniform belief of all the denominations 
who hold the doctrines taught at the Reformation. 
But in what manner does the Holy Spirit make 
it known to a man that it is his duty to devote 
himself to this special service ? He cannot expect 



A CALL TO THE -MINISTRY. 31 

that God should speak to him in an audible voice. 
The Holy Spirit does not address men in that way. 
He must then, as the Prayer-Book has it, be " in- 
wardly moved." By this I mean that the Holy 
Spirit so sets before a man his duty to serve God in 
this manner, that he can with a good conscience 
serve him in no other. It is not enough that, 
having surveyed the several modes of life open 
before him, he prefers this one because his intel- 
lectual tastes lead him in this direction, nor that he 
may thus enjoy a life of ease and literary leisure, 
nor because if he chooses this calling he can enter 
it with greater ease than any other. These are 
selfish and worldly considerations, such as the Holy 
Spirit never puts into the minds of men. On the 
contrary, he to whom the Holy Spirit makes known 
that this is his duty, is, in the first place, rendered 
willing to serve in any manner that God shall see 
fit to designate. He lays himself and all that is 
most dear to him on the altar, and, with Saul at 
Damascus, only asks : " Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ? " This is the proper state of mind for 
every disciple of Christ. When this question is 
asked in humility and simple sincerity, I believe 
that there are some men who see the ministry of 
the gospel set before them as the only service in 
which they can please God. It is not for any tem- 
poral advantage that they choose it. It may lead 



32 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

to sacrifices, self-denials, the surrender of many a 
cherished project, the suffering of much that flesh 
and blood would gladly escape ; but all thismatters 
not. The voice of God has said to the man : " This 
is the way, walk thou in it" ; and come what will, 
he dares not walk in any other. The way may seem 
dark to him, but from time to time the promise 
whispers, " Lo, I am with you always" ; and with 
his whole heart he surrenders himself cheerfully to 
the service of Christ, in the ministry of the word. 
But it will be said a man may easily mistake the 
intimations of the Spirit. He may entertain erro- 
neous conceptions of his qualifications for the min- 
istry, and thus place himself in a position from 
which he can neither advance nor retreat without 
apparent disgrace. This is doubtless true. Many 
have made this mistake, and never has it been more 
frequently made, than when the view of a call to 
the ministry such as I am advocating is very 
much forgotten. How many quite young men, 
ignorant of their own qualifications, attracted, per- 
haps, by the apparent pleasantness of the calling, 
or moved by the injudicious advice of friends, are 
annually placed in a course which must end either 
in the ministry or disgrace ! How many of those 
who have consumed eight or nine years in prepa- 
ration for the ministry, find, when it is too late, 
that they have mistaken their calling, and that the 



A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 33 

best part of their lives has been spent to no pur- 
pose ! They find that preaching is not their voca- 
tion, and to enter upon a wholly secular calling is 
almost impossible. A sort of medium course is 
taken, by which they may labor in some good cause 
without ostensibly relinquishing the ministry. 
Hence all sorts of places are filled with ministers, 
without charge, who have devoted their lives to 
some other object than the preaching of the gospel. 
Colleges, academies, schools, derive their instruct- 
ors, in a large proportion, from men who have been 
educated for the ministry. Agents for colleges, 
solicitors for their funds, and for the funds of all 
our benevolent associations, are taken from our edu- 
cated clergy. Editors of religious newspapers, and 
a large part of the staff of such an establishment, 
are taken from the same class. In most of our be- 
nevolent associations the paid offices are held by 
clergymen, except that of treasurer, which is always 
held by a layman. The circulation of religious 
books, in various forms, is done by the same class 
of men. In view of these facts, it is evident that 
many who prepare for the ministry have mistaken 
their calling, and therefore a liability to this mis- 
take is not peculiar to the view which I have taken. 
But this is not all. It is not enough that the 
man believes himself called to this work ; it yet 
remains that his brethren see in him the proper 



34 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

qualifications. The necessity of such consent of 
his Christian brethren is acknowledged in all de- 
nominations. Sometimes the judgment in this case 
is left to the church of which the candidate is a 
member, to be, in case of ordination, confirmed by 
a council ; or it is left with a presbytery, a body 
composed of ministers and laymen from the vicin- 
ity ; or it rests with the presiding elders and 
bishops in the Methodist, or with the bishop and 
standing-committee in the Episcopal Church. In 
the latter church, the candidates are presented to 
the bishop by a minister or ministers, who are ad- 
dressed by him as follows : " Take heed that the 
person (or persons) whom ye present unto us be 
apt and meet for their learning and godly conver- 
sation, to exercise their ministry duly to the honor 
of God and the edifying of his church." The 
minister answers : " I have inquired concerning 
them, and also examined them, and think them so 
to be." These two evidences then, — the convic- 
tion in the mind of the candidate that he is 
" inwardly " called to the work, and the belief of 
his brethren that he possesses the proper qualifica- 
tions, — seem to be generally required by all Prot- 
estant Christians. Such, at least, is our theory; 
w T hether or not our practice conforms to it, those 
who are best acquainted with the facts can answer. 
There is, however, in both cases, presupposed, a 



A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 35 

conviction of the most solemn responsibility. Both 
are supposed to speak and act in view of their ac- 
countability to God. If the candidate utters these 
words as a mere form, if he declares himself " in- 
wardly moved by the Holy Ghost " to undertake 
this work, while he is destitute of any such con- 
sciousness, or, if those who give him their sanction 
do it without inquiry, examination, or satisfactory 
knowledge of his qualifications, then the party or 
parties so acting are guilty of lying to the Holy 
Ghost. If both parties act as it becomes men 
under such responsibility, there will be no great 
danger of mistake. A fallible being will fail some- 
where ; but there is here as little liability to failure 
as falls to men in any of the ordinary affairs of 
life. 

Yours, truly. 



LETTER III. 

IN WHAT SENSE IS THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL 
A PROFESSION ? 

My Dear Brother : 
T THINK you must have observed a change 
-*■ which has taken place, within the period of 
your recollection, in the . terms which are used in 
speaking of the ministry. It has become common 
to class the ministry with what are called the lib- 
eral or learned professions, especially those of law 
and medicine. Thus a young man will frequently 
speak of the profession which he shall choose, 
compare the various agreeables and disagreeables 
of each, deliberately weighing the rate of compen- 
sation of each, and measuring the opportunity 
which each offers for mental improvement, and for 
ease and comfort in living. 

After it has been taken for granted that the min- 
istry of the gospel is a liberal profession, standing 
on the same ground as other professions, the ques- 
tion naturally arises, why should not the same 
rules of conduct apply equally to all? Thus the 
lawyer, or physician, who has spent time and money 



IS TEE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? ol 

in his professional education, feels perfectly at lib- 
erty to labor where he shall receive the largest 
compensation : why should not a minister do the 
same? Professional men, if they can command 
the means, consider it appropriate to live in ease 
and luxury : why should this profession be an 
exception ? Men in other professions, if their en- 
gagements will allow it, cast off the cares of busi- 
ness, and spend some part of the year in physical 
enjoyment at places of fashionable resort : why 
should not a minister do likewise? The leading 
members of a church or congregation in a city fre- 
quently spend a year or two in visiting the cities 
of Europe, looking at paintings and sculpture, 
gazing at buildings, and attending various public 
exhibitions of artistic excellence : why should not 
a pastor indulge himself in these enjoyments as 
well as his people ; and if the means are provided 
for him, why should he not avail himself of the 
opportunity? The families of professional men 
enter commonly into what are called the innocent 
gayeties of life, and thus unite with the opulent 
in forming a caste for themselves : why should 
not the family of a minister enjoy this privilege 
when it is proffered to him ? All these questions 
naturally arise after it is taken for granted that the 
ministry is a profession, — that is, away of earning 
a living by the labor of the mind rather than of 



38 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

the body, — -and entitled to all that is common to 
those who obtain their living in this manner. I 
say these questions will naturally arise. I say 
more : if we grant the premises, we must answer 
them all in the same manner. 

But let us go back a little. Is the gospel a pro- 
fession, in the sense in which this word is commonly 
understood ? 

There is one point of view, and only one, from 
which there is seen any analogy between the min- 
istry of the gospel, and the professions of which 
we have spoken. The term profession is com- 
monly used to designate those callings whose ob- 
ject it is to teach us the laws by which we should 
regulate our conduct in the various circumstances 
of life. The lawyer teaches us how to avail ourselves 
of the laws of the land, for the purpose of obtaining 
our rights and redressing our wrongs. The physi- 
cian teaches us how to obey the physical laws under 
which we are created, so that we may preserve our 
health, or regain it when it has become impaired. 
The minister of religion teaches us how we may 
secure the favor of God and prepare in this life for 
the life that is to come. In this respect there is a 
general analogy between all these callings, and 
therefore the political economist jjlaces them in the 
same class of laborers. 

In every other respect, I think, the ministry dif- 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 39 

fers essentially both from the professions and every 
other calling in life. 

1. In the selection of any other occupation than 
that of the ministry, a man is governed by his own 
individual choice. He follows the bias of his own 
mind, or the dictates of expediency; he chooses 
that which opens the most promising field for the 
display of his own peculiar talent, or which will, 
in the shortest time, secure for him competence or 
opulence, or which will lead most directly to po- 
litical eminence, if perchance he has bowed down 
to that seductive idol. Having settled those ques- 
tions satisfactorily to himself, he forms his decision, 
and acts accordingly ; he has nothing further to 
ask, and he is satisfied that his inquiries have cov- 
ered the whole ground. 

With the minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ 
it is entirely different. He does not enter upon 
this calling because it will lead to temporal ad- 
vancement, to ease, or wealth, or power, or because 
it will gratify his desire for intellectual investiga- 
tion, or afford occasions for the cultivation of taste ; 
he undertakes this service because he believes that 
he is "inwardly moved to do so by the Holy 
Spirit." The conviction is fastened upon his con- 
science that he must do it or he will displease God, 
and that in no other course of life can he ask for 
his blessing. He feels that God has spoken to him, 



40 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

and he dares not disobey. Other callings are 
chosen from views of mere temporal expediency ; 
this is undertaken in obedience to the commands 
of God, addressed to his individual soul. 

The relation of the professional man to his em- 
ployers, is essentially that of principal and agent. 
The employer is the principal ; the lawyer or phy- 
sician is the agent. His services are required for 
the purpose of doing for the principal what he can- 
not do for himself. If the agent faithfully serves 
his principal, and the principal honorably pays the 
agent, the whole case is closed. So far as the pro- 
fessional relation is concerned, it is a contract ex- 
clusively between the two parties ; and, when each 
has performed faithfully his part of the agreement, 
we look for nothing beyond. 

But the ministry of the gospel is of a totally 
different character. The minister is an agent, but 
his principal is neither client nor patient, nor con- 
gregation, but Almighty God. He is appointed of 
God to perform a special service, and to God is he 
responsible. He may preach so as to please his 
congregation ; they may pay him punctually and 
liberally ; they may applaud his efforts, and be 
proud of his talents, while both he and they, in this 
very thing, are odious in the sight of God ; and he, 
especially, who has undertaken the cure of their 
souls, may be fixing upon himself the doom of the 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 41 

unprofitable servant. God has sent him to deliver 
his message to this people ; has he delivered it ? 
He may have all the while been delivering some- 
thing else, or he may have delivered something 
like it, but so modified to please his hearers, or 
gain for himself a reputation, that God never ac- 
knowledges it as his communication to sinful men. 
The command of the Master is, that he preach the 
preaching which the Spirit gives him, whether men 
will hear, or whether they will forbear ; and if he 
do not obey the command, however much men may 
applaud, he can expect nothing but the frown of 
an offended God. 

And hence, though he make a contract with his 
people as to the kind and amount of his labor, this 
is no justification in the sight of God. This 
cannot annul the command which God imposed 
upon him when he undertook this service. His 
people may be willing that he should preach only 
so often in the week, that he should never visit 
them for the purpose of religious conversation, and 
for so long, a time in the year be free from all pas- 
toral labor. His brethren, at his ordination, besides 
urging upon the people the very proper duty of 
paying him punctually, may teach them that they 
must not expect him to spend his time in pas- 
toral visitation, but take it for granted that if he 
do not perform this labor he is deeply engaged in 



42 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

study for their benefit, pouring out his soul with 
strong crying and tears for their conversion. All 
this may be done, but yet it alters not the case. 
His principal is neither his people nor his brethren, 
but the ascended Saviour ; and at the last day he 
will find it to be a small thing to be judged by 
man's judgment. He that judgeth him is the 
Lord. 

When Paul was bidding farewell to the church 
at Ephesus, with whom he had labored as pastor for 
three years, he did not place his confidence that he 
was free from the blood of all men on the ground 
that he had kept the pulpit regularly supplied, and 
had done everything that they had employed him 
to do; nor did they take comfort to themselves 
that they had paid his salary quarterly, and in acts 
of kindness had gone even beyond their engage- 
ment. The apostle's retrospect of his services, and 
of the account wiiich he was to render, was of 
another kind. "Ye know," said he, "from the 
first day that I came into Asia, after what manner 
I have been with you at all seasons, serving the 
Lord with all humility of mind, and how I kept 
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but 
have showed you and taught you publicly, and 
from house to house, testifying both to the Jews 
and to the Greeks repentance towards God, and 
faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither 



IS TEE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 43 

count I my life dear to myself, so that I might fin- 
ish my course with joy, and the ministry which I 
have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gos- 
pel of the grace of God. Wherefore I take you 
to record this day, that I am pure from the blood 
of all men ; for I have not shunned to declare to 
you the whole counsel of God. Take heed to your- 
selves, and to the whole flock over which the Holy 
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the flock 
of God which he hath purchased with his own 
blood. Therefore watch ; and remember that by 
the space of three years I have not ceased to warn 
every one, clay and night, with tears. I have coveted 
no man's silver, or gold, or apparel ; ye yourselves 
know that these hands have ministered unto my 
necessities, and those that were with me. I have 
showed you all things, how that so laboring ye 
ought to support the weak ; and to remember the 
words of the Lord Jesus, It is more blessed to give 
than to receive." 

Again, the rewards promised in the New Testa- 
ment to the minister of the gospel, are not tempo- 
ral, but eternal. They were warned by the Saviour 
to expect from the world persecution, and every 
form of ill-treatment. This was declared to be the 
lot of all the disciples. So, at the close of his life, 
Paul declared that all who will live godly in Christ 
Jesus must suffer persecution. The normal rela- 



44 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

tion of the church to the world renders this almost 
a necessity. Jesus intends his disciples to be, in 
the practice of every virtue, far in advance of the 
world that lieth in wickedness. But to be thus in 
advance of the world, and by precept and example 
to bear testimony against its prevailing practices, 
must, of course, arouse its ill-wilL This may show 
itself in various ways, according to the progress of 
civilization and the more perfect knowledge of the 
rights of man. In the times of the Apostle, the 
Jews stoned and the Romans beheaded or crucified 
a faithful preacher of Christ. In the times of 
Whitfield, they assaulted him with dead cats and 
rotten eggs. At other times, uncompromising and 
consistent obedience to Christ will occasion many 
a cold look, frequent accusations of fanaticism and 
hypocrisy, and an eagerness to fabricate and hear 
and believe anything to his disadvantage. At 
times when the profession of religion has degener- 
ated into formalism, it not unfrequently happens, 
that to the contradiction of sinners there is added 
the contradiction of saints. For a large share of 
this ill-will, the minister who fearlessly inculcates 
the obligation to live a godly and self-denying 
life, and urges upon all men the necessity of re- 
pentance and faith in Christ as absolutely necessary 
to salvation, must prepare himself. Observe the 
evidences of a true ministerial character in the 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION* 45 

view of the Apostle of the Gentiles : " In all things 
approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in 
much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in dis- 
tresses, in strifes, in imprisonments, in tumults, 
in labors, in watchings, in fastings : by pureness, 
by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by 
the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word 
of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of 
righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by 
honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: 
as deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet 
well known ; as dying, and behold we live ; as 
chastened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, yet always 
rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as 
having nothing, yet possessing all things." 

It has sometimes occurred to me that the evi- 
dences by which a clergyman might at the present 
time show that he had been a successful minister 
of Christ, would be somewhat unlike those of the 
Apostle Paul. It might be something like this: 
"At an early age I lost both of my parents by 
death, and, after obtaining the advantages of a com- 
mon-school education, was under the necessity of 
earning my own living. While thus occupied, dur- 
ing a revival in my native town I became, as I trust, 
the subject of divine grace, and entered upon a 
Christian life with all the zeal of a new convert. I 
frequently spoke and prayed in the meetings of 



46 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

persons of my own age. Soon, to my surprise, the 
older brethren in the church urged me to prepare 
for the ministry. Being destitute of the means for 
procuring an education, they assured me that by the 
aid of the Education Society, together with that 
of Christian friends, I might, without difficulty, be 
carried through a course of classical and theological 
education, and, under the best auspices, enter the 
ministry of the gospel. I had never thought of 
the subject until it was suggested to me, but the 
proposal was too flattering to be disregarded. I 
was at once liberated from my previous engage- 
ment, and entered the academy at A. 

" Here I found myself in the midst of young men 
quite unlike those with whom I had previously 
associated, and I painfully felt my deficiencies. 
Being fond of study, however, and possessing, 
perhaps I may say without vanity, somewhat more 
than the usual facility for acquisition and adapta- 
tion, I was soon able to place myself on a par with 
the best of them. In due time I left the academy, 
with flattering testimonials, and entered the col- 
lege at B. 

"At college I maintained the standing I had 
already acquired, and, to quote the words of the 
apostle, profited above many that were my equals. 
I regret, however, to say, that my religious princU. 
pies did not here gain either in depth or earnest- 



IS TEE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 47 

ness. I felt that I was for the time preparing for 
future usefulness by intellectual improvement, and 
that this must be the object of my greatest solici- 
tude. My officers of instruction were all professors 
of religion, and some of them clergymen ; but they 
seemed to think their duty discharged when they 
had awakened in us a love of science and letters, 
and during my whole residence but one of them 
ever conversed with me on the subject of personal 
religion. My piety suffered in consequence, though 
I was guilty of no immoral conduct, and was a fre- 
quent attendant upon the meetings for prayer. I 
must, however, confess, that bearing the cross for 
Christ had not many practical advocates among us. 
At the close of my course I received an appoint- 
ment which gratified my friends, and graduated 
with the reputation of being a correct disciple of 
Christ. 

"At the seminary, which I immediately entered, 
my religious life was, in most respects, the same. 
At first, the thought that I was now irrevocably com- 
mitted to the ministry, produced in me a feeling 
of solemnity. I prayed more frequently and more 
earnestly, and strove to consecrate myself anew to 
God. Soon, however, I became more than ever 
absorbed in study, and these feelings gradually 
subsided. The kind of places most to be desired 
in the ministry, was a frequent subject of our con- 



48 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

versation, and I labored assiduously to prepare 
myself for a prominent position in our church. Nor 
was my labor wholly in vain. I received several 
invitations to preach, as a candidate, as soon as my 
theological course was completed. I settled at 
once in the flourishing village of C, at a salary of 
one thousand dollars per annum. I preferred this to 
a more public situation because its duties were not 
oppressive, and I should have leisure to pursue with 
less interruption the studies which I had com- 
menced, and thus prepare for more extended useful- 
ness. Here I succeeded in building up a prosperous 
society, and, beyond my merits, was esteemed one 
of the most promising ministers in that vicinity. 

"I had been seven years pastor of the church at 
C, when I received a call from a church in the city 
of D., one of the most wealthy societies of our 
denomination in that metropolis e The salary was 
such, and the field of usefulness so great, that the 
call seemed irresistible. It placed me at once in 
affluence, while the labor, beyond preparation for 
the Sabbath, was left very much at my discretion. 
The miscellaneous business of such a position I 
knew to be great, but I was at liberty to undertake 
as much or as little of it as I chose ; and I suppose 
I have rather an aptitude for executive affairs. I 
was always earnest in the cause of education, and 
succeeded in inducing my church, a few years after 



IS TEE MINIS TR Y A PROFESSION t 49 

my settlement, to establish a professorship in the 
college at which I was graduated. At the follow- 
ing commencement, to my astonishment, I was 
honored with the degree of Doctor in Divinity. 
My people have twice sent me to Europe, paying 
all my expenses. They allow me as much time as 
I desire for recreation, by which means I have been 
in the enjoyment of excellent health. My house 
is in one of the pleasantest parts of the city, and is 
as well furnished as that of professional men gen- 
erally. In my family I have been greatly blessed. 
Two of my sons occupy prominent positions : 
one as a lawyer, and the other as a partner in a 
most respectable mercantile house. The youngest 
has entered the ministry, and has for some time 
been settled in the city of E. My two daughters 
are both well married, and I am surrounded with 
every blessing which the kindness and respect of 
the community can confer. Through the blessing 
of God, I am permitted to look back on my life and 
thank him for leading me into the ministry ; for 
rendering that ministry so successful, and bestow- 
ing on me so many tokens of his favor. I could 
not have been happier had I chose any other pro- 
fession. Bless the Lord, O my soul! and forget 
not all his benefits." 

I ask, would not this be considered a very suc- 
cessful ministry ? Is it not, however, greatly un- 
4 



50 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

like that of St. Paul? The one represents the 
apostolic, the other the professional view of the 
minister of the gospel. 

But we may consider this subject from a some- 
what different point of view. We may profitably 
reflect on the terms by whicft the ministry is desig- 
nated, and the human callings with which it is 
most in analogy. We observe, then, that the min- 
ister of Christ is, in the New Testament, frequently 
called a steward; that is, the upper servant in a 
large household, whose principal duty it is to dis- 
tribute to the other servants their daily provisions. 
Thus the apostle addresses the Corinthians : " Let 
a man so account of us as ministers of Christ, and 
stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is 
required of stewards that a man be found faithful." 
"But with me it is a very small thing that I should 
be judged of you, or of man's judgment : yea, I 
judge not mine own self; for I know nothing of 
myself [that is, I have no consciousness of acting 
unfaithfully], yet am I not hereby justified. He 
that judgeth me is the Lord." The apostle fre- 
quently in his epistles refers to this view of his 
office. He exults that the dispensation of the gos- 
pel — that is, the duty of dispensing it as a steward 
— -is committed to him. 

A steward is the person in the household to 
whom the master commits the duty of distributing 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 51 

to the servants the provisions needful for every- 
day. TThat which he distributes is wholly the prop- 
erty of his proprietor, not a particle of it belongs 
to him ; and if he use any of it for his personal 
advantage, he is an unfaithful servant. In distrib- 
uting it among his fellow-servants, he has no right 
to make use of anything that has not been put 
into his hands for this purpose. He has power over 
that committed to him, and no more ; but what 
has been thus committed he must distribute to the 
last atom, for it is required of stewards that a man 
be found faithful. His fellow-servants may desire 
something more, or something different, but he 
dares not listen to them for a moment. They may 
dislike the food, and ill-treat him because he will 
not yield to their wishes. But all this matters not ; 
his account is not to be rendered to them, but to 
his master; and therefore it is a small thing to be 
judged by their judgment. Nay, though he is 
conscious of no intentional error, yet, having to 
render his account to one who will examine it with 
the most scrupulous exactness, he frequently trem- 
bles lest at last he should be found wanting. 

Thus is it with the minister of Christ. He is 
entrusted by the Master with the duty of dispens- 
ing to his fellow-men the truth which God has 
revealed to them ; but especially with the news to 
a perishing world of salvation by the blood of 



52 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

Christ. They are not his own ideas, but the ideas 
of God. He must deliver them all, keeping back 
nothing. He must communicate them to others 
just as he receives them from the holy oracle. 
His fellow-men may like a part and not the whole, 
or they may prefer something different ; but it all 
matters not : he must dispense precisely what has 
been committed to him in the written word, 
through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. His 
account has not to be rendered to them, but to 
God, who trieth the heart ; therefore it is a small 
thing to be judged by them, or of man's judgment. 
God has entrusted him with the good news of sal- 
vation, and this he must make known in simplicity 
and godly sincerity to all men ; for every child of 
Adam must perish without it. He must do this 
everywhere, with unshrinking faithfulness. What 
men may think of him is a very trifling matter. 
It can neither condemn nor justify him, for it is 
not before their tribunal that he is to appear. 
Nay, though aware of no dereliction in duty, he 
dares not rely on his own consciousness of rectitude 
as a justification before an all-seeing God. Having 
done all, he casts himself and all his services at the 
foot of the cross, that, sprinkled with atoning blood, 
they may, through the merits of the Saviour, be 
accepted, having been cleansed through him from 
all imperfection. 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 53 

But we must go further, and reflect on the rela- 
tion which the gospel steward sustains to his fellow- 
men. He is sent to men perishing by famine and 
dying around him. The food which he dispenses 
is all that has ever been given for the supply of 
their wants ; aside from it there is no possible pro- 
vision. They, however, have no appetite for the 
food which he has to dispense, nor any confidence 
in the benevolent proprietor who has sent him. 
The duty of the steward, then, is not completed 
when he has merely set the food before them. He 
must, by every means in his power, strive to per- 
suade them to partake of it, and " compel them to 
come in." ISTo matter who they are, — rich or poor, 
young or old, wise or unwise, learned or ignorant, 
— all are perishing, and he must endeavor to save 
them all. He must use every means to show to 
them their danger ; he must convince them that 
their necessity admits of no delay; he must teach 
them the character of the benevolent proprietor ; 
he must exhibit to them the effect which the food 
which he offers has produced upon others ; and 
above all exemplify the effect which it has produced 
upon himself, once perishing like themselves, but 
now enjoying all the vigor of spiritual health, and 
never cease until he -sees them turn their fainting 
eyes toward the rich provision that has been made 
for them, eat it, and live forever. Would the 



54 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

steward who should do less than this deserve the 
name of a man? Could he who would not exert 
every energy in such a case be found faithful in 
the sight of man ; be clear in his own conscience ; 
and, what is infinitely more important, meet the 
approbation of the Lord who judgeth him? 

There is another calling among men by which 
the minister of the gospel is designated : it is that 
of an ambassador. Now, then, " we are ambassa- 
dors for Christ; as though God did beseech you by 
us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled 
to God." * 

The office of ambassador is peculiar. He is an 
individual sent from one government to another 
to negotiate matters of difference between them. 
He has no more original authority than any other 
citizen. He is limited exclusively by his instruc- 
tions ; he may neither go beyond nor fall short of 
them, nor in any respect modify or alter them. 
He must deliver the message precisely as he has 
received it. If he vary at all from his instructions, 
the act is his own, and not the act of the govern- 
ment, and his government is under no obligation 
to ratify it. So long, however, as he acts precisely 
within the limit of his instructions, his act is the 
act of his government, and in every result it is 
bound to ratify it and hold him harmless. 

Now the race of man has revolted from the 



IS TEE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 00 

authority of God, and is, at this moment, in rebel- 
lion against him. He has provided a most mer- 
ciful way for their return to their allegiance, and 
has sent his ministers as ambassadors to offer 
them terms of reconciliation. The instructions by 
which they are to be governed in this embassy 
are made known in the New Testament. These 
they have no authority to enlarge, abridge, alter, 
or modify. They are to make them known to all 
men, in all plainness and simplicity. All are 
engaged in this rebellion, and to all, young or old, 
polished or rude, learned or unlearned, the mes- 
sage of God is to be delivered. If the professed 
minister of Christ propose any terms not offered 
by his Sovereign, or if he fail to make them known 
in all clearness, or if he clothe them in language 
which cannot be understood, the souls of men are 
lost, and he must be responsible to his Sovereign. 
If especially he make the delivery of this message 
the means of securing personal advantage, instead 
of faithfully making known the will of the Master, 
he is false to his trust ; and the souls of sinners, 
which he has bartered away for the applause of 
men, will be required at his hands. 

But the case of the ambassador of Christ has 
some peculiarities. The ambassador ordinarily is 
commissioned to a government, and all his deal- 
ing is with them, and not at all with individuals. 



56 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

He must make his communication to the officers 
of state, and to them exclusively. Not so with 
the ambassador of Christ. In the Old Testament 
we find nations addressed, and the communica- 
tions from God are to them, and especially to 
their rulers. In the New Testament we perceive 
nothing of the kind ; and but for the fact of perse- 
cutions, we should have no mention of nations as 
such, or of the magistrates who governed them. 
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a communication 
made from God to each individual of the human 
race. It is good news to be made known to every 
creature. The ambassador is therefore sent with 
his message, not to collective masses, but to every 
individual soul. 

And again, an ambassador among men is com- 
missioned to make Jcnoicn to those to whom he is 
sent simply the message of his sovereign. He 
has no command to persuade them to accept of 
the terms which he offers. When he has, in faith- 
fulness and kindness, made them known, his duty 
is accomplished, and the responsibility rests with 
them. But with the ambassador of Christ the 
case is different. The Sovereign who has sent 
him, the eternal God, has manifested the most 
intense desire that our rebellious race should be 
reconciled to him. He has made the most costly 
offering in the universe to render our return to 



IS THE MINISTRY A PROFESSION? 57 

him possible. He has sent his Holy Spirit to 
impress the truth upon the consciences of men, 
and having done all this, — oh, infinite condescen- 
sion ! — he draws near, and beseeches us to be 
reconciled to him. The ambassador of such a 
Father in heaven to his erring and lost children 
has far more to do than officially to deliver his 
message. He is the messenger to man of a 
beseeching God. Can he do less than devote his 
whole energy to the work of persuading men to 
return to their Father in heaven ? The gospel 
feast is prepared, and he is sent to scour the coun- 
try — to go to the "highways and hedges, and 
compel them to come in." At home and abroad, 
publicly and from house to house, among the poor 
and despised as much as among the rich and the 
powerful, among the young and the old, he is 
everywhere to plead with men to be reconciled 
to God. By every motive derived from the law 
by which we are to be judged, from the holiness 
and the love of God, from the self-sacrificing com- 
passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, from the fulness 
and freeness of the offer of salvation, from the 
eternal realities of a world of happiness and a 
world of woe, he is to urge men to be reconciled 
to God through the death of his well-beloved 
Son. In a word, the ambassador of Christ is to 
devote his whole being to the work of preparing 



58 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

souls for heaven, to the conversion of men from 
sin to holiness, presenting them " without spot or 
wrinkle, or any such thing, before the throne of 
God/' 

Is this any more than a simple, though very 
imperfect statement of the duties of the ministry 
of the gospel, as they are made known in the word 
of God ? Is it, in any respect, exaggerated ? If 
in any, in what ? It is not exaggerated ; for no 
language can exaggerate its responsibility. We 
all know the solemn errand on which the Son of 
God visited our earth ; and he himself has said, 
" As my Father has sent me, so send I you." We 
are sent to do the same work (the atonement of 
course excepted) for which God became incarnate, 
and who is sufficient for these things ? 

Is this work, then, to be accomplished by weekly 
lectures on some social duty, enforced from the 
teaching of natural conscience ; or by a view of 
the benefits which will accrue to the community by 
the performance of it ; or by a lifeless demonstra- 
tion of some doctrine of revelation, in the practi- 
cal application of w T hich neither speaker nor hearer 
seem to have any more interest than if both were 
inhabitants of the planet Jupiter ; or by reading a 
discourse on something collateral to religion, in 
which the name of Jesus is never spoken, if even 
referred to ; or by a description of some locality 



IS THE MINISTR Y A PR OFESSION t 59 

in Judea, with allusions to the several classes of 
individuals to whom the gospel was first deliv- 
ered ; or by an eloquent amplification of truisms 
which no one ever disputed ; or by entertaining 
an audience for an hour or two every Sabbath, 
without bringing home to their consciences their 
obligations to repent and believe ; or, in a word, 
by so preaching that a careless sinner might at- 
tend our ministrations for months together with- 
out once being brought face to face with his own 
conscience, or a convicted sinner be pointed to 
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of 
the world ? Let any man read the New Testament, 
and then judge for himself whether this is doing 
the work of an ambassador of Christ to a revolted 
and perishing world. Was this the way in which 
the Apostle Paul did the work of a pastor at 
Ephesus or Corinth, cities as renowned as any at 
the present day for learning, intelligence, or re- 
finement ? Let him answer for himself : u And I, 
brethren, when I came unto you, came not with 
excellency of speech or of wisdom, delivering unto 
you the testimony of God, for I determined to 
preach nothing among you but Jesus Christ and 
him crucified ; and I was with you in weakness and 
fear, and in much trembling, and my speech and 
my preaching was not with enticing words of 
man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit 



60 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

and of power." In this way did the apostle build 
up a church in the city of Corinth. 

Looking at the ministry of the gospel from this 
point of view, how is the office degraded when we 
speak of it as a profession, or when we derive 
our rules for the discharge of its duties from 
any calling upon earth ! Suppose an ambassador 
from any court of Europe should appear among 
us, and, declaring himself a professional man, 
should measure his duties and responsibilities by 
the rules which governed the lawyers and physi- 
cians at Washington ? Could words express the 
contempt which he would inspire in the breasts of 
the people to whom he was sent, or in the mind 
of him who commissioned him? Peace or war, 
the happiness or misery of millions, depend on the 
manner in which he discharges his duty; and, for- 
getful of all this, he yields himself up to the man- 
ners of the men by whom he is surrounded. He 
will neither read nor write a despatch, he will 
neither make nor attend to a communication, if it 
will interfere with his attendance at a ball or the 
betting at a horse-race. We, as ministers of the 
gospel, claim to be the ambassadors of the Sover- 
eign of the universe to our lost fellow-men. If we 
make such a claim, let us act in a manner that 
shall correspond with it. 

Yours, truly. 



LETTER IV. 

PREACHING THE GOSPEL. — THE CCJNTERSION OF 

SINKERS. 

My Dear Brother: 

TTTE have delayed long enough on the profes- 
' ' sional aspect of the ministry : let us proceed 
to consider this calling from another point of 
view. 

The duties of a minister beseeching men to be 
reconciled to God are of three kinds : First, public, 
or preaching ; second, private conversation with 
individuals ; and thirdly, exemplary, or the mani- 
festation of the truth by his daily life. These are 
all demanded by the nature of his office. He can- 
not fully discharge his duty unless his influence is 
felt in all these directions. 

Let us, then, first consider that part of a min- 
ister's duty which is discharged in the pulpit, or 
preaching. 

The object of the ministry, then, is, in the first 
place, to persuade men to be reconciled to God ; 
and in the second place to establish those who have 
been reconciled in all holy practice, so that he may 



62 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

present them faultless before the throne of God. 
Just in proportion as he attains these ends, is his 
ministry successful. If they are not attained, no 
matter what else he may have done, his ministry 
has been a failure. It matters not how much he 
may have been applauded for eloquence, or how 
firmly he may have established a reputation for 
thorough scholarship or accomplished rhetoric, or 
have acquired rank and position in the denomina- 
tion to which he belongs, or how large and influen- 
tial a congregation he may have gathered, if he 
have neither converted sinners to Christ, nor con- 
firmed saints in holiness, his life, so far as the min- 
istry is concerned, is a blank, on which the Spirit 
of God has never written a syllable. 

But if such be the exclusive object of the minis- 
try, it is interesting to inquire, How may it be 
attained ? The apostle shall answer this question 
for us : " We have renounced the hidden things of 
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling 
the word of God deceitfully ; but by the manifes- 
tation of the truth commending ourselves to every 
man's conscience [not his taste or imagination] in 
the sight of God." But what truth ? The truth 
of Aristotle, or Plato, or Socrates, or truth made 
known to us by the light of nature ? Oh, no ! this 
is not what the apostle termed the truth which he 
manifested to the consciences of men. He had been 



PREA CHING — CON VERSION OF MEN. 63 

commissioned to make known the most astonishing 
truth that had ever fallen on the ears of men : that 
God had provided for a world justly doomed to 
eternal death a way of reconciliation, through the 
death of his well-beloved Son ; and that glory, 
honor, and immortal life were freely offered to ev- 
ery child of Adam who would rej3ent and believe. 
Compared with this, every other knowledge seemed 
to him frivolous and contemptible. " I count," 
said he, " all things but loss for the excellency of 
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." 

Now this wonderful truth, and all that God has 
seen fit to make known in connection with it, is 
contained in the sacred Scriptures. The Saviour, 
and the men who were inspired by him, have re- 
vealed to us in the language of men all that we 
shall ever know of the unseen world, and of the 
way in which we shall secure our eternal happiness. 
God has promised to accompany this truth by the 
influences of his Holy Spirit, by which alone it 
can be made effectual to the conversion of men. 
Hence the duty of the minister of Christ is plain. 
His object is to convert men. They are to be con- 
verted by the manifestation of the truth of revela- 
tion. There, as I have said, he finds the ideas of 
God in the language of men. These he presents 
to the consciences of men. He must do it with 
plainness, simplicity, and with unshrinking fidelity, 



64 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

knowing not the persons of men, but speaking 
solemnly in the fear of God. To suppose that he 
can add to the impressiveness of the word of God, 
by strengthening it with the reasonings of men, 
seems to me to be arrant folly. No reason can 
ever be so strong for any belief as the simple fact 
that God has said it. 

All this, at least, is acknowledged by our uni- 
versal practice. When we preach we always take, 
ostensibly as the basis of our discourse, some pas- 
sage of the word of God. This is called a text ; 
and without it, our communication may be an 
oration, a speech, a lecture, or an essay, but it is 
never called a sermon. But why take a text? 
Simply because we profess in preaching to unfold 
some idea of inspiration, and, on the authority of 
God, enforce it on our hearers. If this be not our 
intention we need no text at all ; or we may as well 
take one from Bacon's Essays or any other work, 
as from the Scriptures. This being so, it is not 
enough that we take for our text the words ; we 
must take the ideas of the sacred Scriptures. It 
is not that some idea analogous to that in the text 
may be found in the Bible ; we must endeavor to 
ascertain the precise idea communicated by the 
Spirit of God in that particular passage. It is not 
enough that what we utter may be true ; we must, 
by manifestation of the truth revealed to us by 



PREACHING — CONVERSION OF MEN. 65 

God, commend ourselves to every man's conscience. 
It is this alone to which the promise of the Holy- 
Spirit is given, and we can ask for his aid in un- 
folding nothing else. 

Hence it is not preaching the gospel to select a 
phrase of really no moral significance, or the rela- 
tion of some incidental event, and make this the 
basis of what we call a sermon. For instance, 
suppose we take for our text Luke xxiv. 13 : " And 
behold two of them went that same day to a village 
called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about 
three-score furlongs." 

We might begin by a learned discussion on the 
length of the Jewish furlong ; we might compare 
it with the Roman measures of distance, with the 
Persian parasang, with the furlong in use among 
us ; and thus determine, with apparent accuracy in 
miles, rods, and yards, how far Emmaus was from 
Jerusalem. We might then inquire where this 
village stood, whether east, west, north, or south 
from Jerusalem, and inform our audience of all the 
places now existing which have been taken for this 
locality, with the reasons which have been adduced 
in favor of each. If, as might be the case, the 
preacher himself had visited Jerusalem, he might 
tell us of the labor he had spent in the personal 
investigation of this subject ; how carefully he had 
paced the distance between Jerusalem and the 
5 



66 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

various localities which claimed to be the village 
of Euimaus. He might describe the nature of the 
soil ; the loveliness of a summer morning in Judea ; 
the face of the country ; the conversation of his 
Arab guides, and their incessant call at every turn 
of the road for additional bucksheesh. Finally, he 
might return to the point whence he commenced, 
by confessing that, with all this laborious inquiry, 
he had been unable to ascertain the locality of 
Emmaus, and that probably the very foundation 
of the little village had been erased from the face 
of the earth. He might close by inquiring who 
the two disciples were to whom reference is made 
in the text ; imagine their feelings as they ascended 
the hill that gave them a full view of Jerusalem, 
and their feelings as they descended it, and the 
wicked city was hidden from their sight. He 
might commence the service with a solemn prayer 
that the truth of God might be made effectual to 
the conversion of sinners and the edification of 
saints; the music might be performed with artistic 
skill ; all things be done decently and in order, and 
the audience dismissed with the apostolic benedic- 
tion; but, I ask, is not all this trifling with the souls 
of men ? It may all be very proper for an anti- 
quarian lecture ; but is it the work of an ambassa- 
dor of God to men dying in sin, and who must 
soon, with their preacher, stand before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ ? 



PREA CHING — CONVERSION OF MEN 67 

I have said that the minister should make known 
to his people the idea conveyed in the text. It is 
not his business to enter upon the metaphysical 
doctrines on which it may be supposed to rest, or, 
leaving the truth made known by the Spirit, to dis- 
course upon the inferences which he may draw 
from it. For instance, a man might take for his 
text Luke xiii. 3 : " Except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish." 

He might commence with a recital of the vari- 
ous opinions which have been entertained concern- 
ing the event which gave rise to this saying of the 
Saviour. Who were these men whose blood 
Pilate mingled with their sacrifices ; and did this 
event occur at Jerusalem, or in Galilee ; and for 
what cause was this cruelty inflicted ? This natu- 
rally leads to the history of Pilate ; his appoint- 
ment as procurator of Judea ; his general character 
for cruelty, meanness, and cupidity ; his deposition 
by Vitellius, and his subsequent death by suicide. 

After this introduction, in which really nothing 
is introduced, the preacher proceeds to the body 
of his work. He is to discourse about repentance. 
The subject is important, and it is necessary to 
commence with first principles. The world is full 
of changes. This important fact he renders im- 
pressive by many illustrations drawn from the 
various appearances of nature. Some changes are 



68 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

for the better, and some for the worse. This admits 
of copious illustration. Changes in morals are 
either those of inward principles, or outward prac- 
tice. The latter follow the former; for if we change 
our principles, it is natural that we change our 
practice. This idea is also capable of large ampli- 
fication, and may lead us into the consideration of 
the power of motives over the will. Hence the 
importance, when there is a change of our princi- 
ples, that it be a change for the better ; otherwise 
it can lead to no good result. Repentance is a 
change of this kind ; it is a sincere regret for the 
past, with a solemn intention to reform our prac- 
tice for the future. Such a change is always pro- 
ductive of the best results. To produce such 
changes temperance societies have been formed, 
and have been very successful. In fact, it may be 
remarked generally, that the object of all true 
reformations is to change the principles of men, 
and thus amend their practice. This idea is also 
capable of being very powerfully enforced. If 
such be the universal law of our being, how great 
must be the benefit to our souls when the change 
in question has to do with our relations to God ! 

The application of these reasonings is evident. 
We should continually examine our principles of 
conduct; and if we find them to be wrong, we 
should change them at once for such as we see to 



PREA CHING — CONVERSION OF MEN. 69 

be right, at the same time taking care that there 
is a corresponding change in our conduct. So, 
above all, if we find on reflection that the princi- 
ples which have governed our relations with God 
are incorrect, we should at once abandon them, 
and replace them by such as are consistent with 
his will. Let us do this, and show by our conduct 
that this change of principles is sincere, and we 
shall thus escape his displeasure and attain to his 
favor. 

Now if this were clothed in a style of unexcep- 
tionable rhetoric, interspersed with illustrations 
from science and history and the occurrences of 
every-day life, and delivered with animation and 
zeal, who doubts that it would pass with a large 
part of many a congregation for what is called a 
splendid effort? The style was polished to a hair ; 
the history of Pilate exhibited research ; the illus- 
trations, drawn from a large range of knowledge 
and observation, were apposite; and what could 
any one ask for more ? The sermon may be laid 
away in a safe place, and become one of the stock- 
discourses of the author. 

But, I ask, in all seriousness, is this preaching 
the gospel? Must it not require a considerable 
degree of modest assurance to call together an 
assembly, many of whom are intelligent men, to 
listen to the amplification of such a string of tru- 



70 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

isms ? Or, suppose a sinner had come into this 
assembly asking, "What must I do to be saved?" 
what word in either of these discourses would have 
indicated to him the way of salvation ? Or, were 
a man an habitual attendant on just such preach- 
ing, how would he ever learn the danger of a life 
of impenitence, or be taught to flee to Christ for 
eternal life ? When such a preacher and his peo- 
ple stand together at the bar of God, I fear that 
they must have a most appalling meeting. 

How, then, shall a minister of Christ select a 
text which shall be in truth the foundation of a 
sermon? He is an ambassador of Christ ; and an 
ambassador is commissioned to make known to 
those to whom he is sent the precise ideas com- 
mitted to him by those who have sent him. The 
minister must do the very same thing. The ideas 
which God desires him to make known to his 
fellow-man, are contained in the written word. 
Let him choose his text, and endeavor to ascertain 
its meaning by deep meditation and solemn and 
earnest prayer. I believe that he who seeks the 
meaning of the word of God with an humble, 
fervent, and devout desire to know the mind of 
the Spirit, will rarely wander far from the truth, 
and will never fall into fatal error. Let him use 
all the aids in his power; but principally let him 
read and re-read, looking upward for the illumina- 



PREA CHING — CONVERSION OF MEN. 71 

tion of the Holy Spirit, and he will not look in 
vain. When ministers shall read the Bible a great 
deal more, and read it with more humble reliance 
on the teaching of the Spirit, I think we shall 
have a greatly improved interpretation of the 
word of God from all our pulpits. I fear that in 
this respect many of us are greatly deficient. 

Let the minister use all the means which God 
has placed in his power to understand the mean- 
ing of the text. Let him then ask, How can this 
idea of God be made most useful to those whom 
I am called to address? Let his sermon be the 
text expanded, and the text the sermon con- 
tracted. Let him strive to be the medium of 
communication between the Spirit of God and 
his hearers. He is not the servant of man. He is 
not called to please men, but God. He must 
preach the preaching that he is bidden, whether 
men will hear or whether they will forbear. With- 
out doing this, he may accomplish many other 
things, but without doing this he can never 
expect the blessing of God upon his labors, nor 
can he say, when he has finished his course, li I am 
free from the blood of all men." 

But it is hardly enough that a man declare the 
message of God with clearness and simplicity. 
This of course is indispensable. But it is to be 
remembered that he is to declare it to men dead 



72 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

in sin, infatuated with the love of the world, the 
slaves of their own imaginations, desires, and lusts. 
They do not love the Sovereign whom he repre- 
sents, and the language of all their conduct is, 
"Who is the Lord, that I should obey him?" 
The mighty God condescends through him to 
beseech them, and he is commanded to pray them 
to be reconciled to God. The case, when looked 
upon in its simple reality, is the most solemn of 
which the mind can conceive. A company of im- 
mortal beings, rapidly approaching the end of 
their probation, is in danger of eternal death; 
and we are sent with the good news that a 
way of escape has been provided, and that the boon 
of eternal life is offered freely to every one of 
them. It is of vital importance that they shall 
believe what we say. But can they believe that 
we believe it ourselves, unless we put our whole 
soul into our message, anxious for nothing but 
their salvation ? Simple, honest, affectionate ear- 
nestness is of vastly more value than argument. 

This leads me to observe that to the preacher 
of the gospel moral preparation for the pulpit is 
of far more importance than intellectual, though I 
fear it is apt to receive far less of our attention. 
If we satisfy ourselves that we have clearly set 
forth the truth, we are prone to feel as though our 
whole work was accomplished. But we may do 



PRE A CHING — CON VERSION OF MEN. 73 

this without awakening a single emotion, without 
prompting a single sinner to ask, " What shall I 
do to be saved?" We handle the most solemn 
truths too much in a professional way. If we 
have a well-digested and well-written discourse, 
we think that is enough. We are all liable to 
lose sight of the fact that, in a most important 
sense, we are responsible for the souls of the peo- 
ple committed to our charge. 

A soul deeply impressed with a conviction of 
the infinite holiness of God, a heart touched with 
tenderness for the men before him who are perish- 
ing in sin, and burning with zeal to be the means 
of saving them from eternal death and bringing 
them to the cross as trophies of a Saviour's love, 
constitutes the best preparation for the pulpit. 
We need the aid of the Spirit of God and the 
fulfilment of the Saviour's promise, "Lo, I am 
with you always, even unto the end of the world." 
But this cannot be attained without a great moral 
effort; it is the fruit of humble and earnest prayer 
and deep and holy meditation. In this respect 
we are, I fear, lamentably deficient. Worldly 
motives are sufficient to lead us to seek for lucid 
arrangement, clearness of thought, beauty of style, 
and all the graces of rhetorical embellishment; but 
nothing except a present consciousness of love to 
Christ, and burning zeal for the salvation of men, 



74 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

will furnish us with the right moral preparation. 
Alas! my brethren, how often do we enter the 
pulpit with worldly hearts, to urge upon men the 
danger of worldliness! How often with hard and 
stony hearts do we preach the necessity of peni- 
tence! How often do we urge our brethren to 
live nearer to God, when we ourselves stand more 
than they in need of the exhortations which we ut- 
ter ! How often have we spoken of the solemnities 
of death and judgment, when our conversation, 
on leaving the house of God, renders it evi- 
dent that our words have had no effect upon our- 
selves ! Is it, then, any wonder that our preaching 
has so little effect? What servant of God, upon a 
review of his ministry, will not confess that this 
has been his great deficiency, and the sin for 
which he most needs the forgiveness of God ? If 
we gave as much attention to the preparation of 
our hearts as to the preparation of our sermons, 
how different would be the account which we 
should render at a coming day ! Are not many 
of us in this respect verily guilty of the blood of 
our brethren ? When we all repent and reform, 
when we never enter the pulpit without a solemn 
conviction that we are standing between the living 
and the dead, and when, after every sermon, we 
can say, in the presence of God, I am clear from 
the blood of these immortal souls, what a change 



PREA CHING — C ON VERSION OF MEN. 75 

will be wrought in all our congregations ! The 
people would throng our churches, not to spend 
an hour pleasantly on the Sabbath day and to 
listen to music which during the week they had 
heard at the opera, but because they heard that 
God was with us of a truth. We should be saved 
the labor of preaching on the evidences of revela- 
tion ; for the proof that Christ had ascended, and 
was shedding abroad that which they saw and 
heard, would be palpable to every mind. The 
day of Pentecost would not be an event to be 
recalled from the depth of twenty centuries, but a 
visible fact in the present; and, as the prophet 
foresaw, the windows of heaven would be opened, 
and a blessing poured out so that there would not 
be room to receive it. 

I conclude this letter with the entreaty that 
you, and every one who is waiting for the salva- 
tion of Israel, will pray for us who minister at the 
altar, and for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 
that this day may be' hastened, and all flesh see 
the salvation of God. 

Yours, truly. 



LETTER V. 

THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 

My Dear Brother: 

TN my last letter I considered the duty of a min- 
-*- ister of Christ as a preacher of repentance. 
This, however, is but a part of his duty. It be- 
longs to his office to be the means not only of 
converting sinners, but of establishing saints in 
the most holy faith. To this other part of his 
duty let us now direct our attention. 

These two departments of service are not, 
however, so dissimilar as it might at first be 
supposed. We not unfrequently hear ministers of 
the gospel spoken of with disparagement, because 
they do nothing but convert sinners. They are 
considered as a subordinate class in the ministry; 
somewhat fanatical ; destitute of solid theological 
learning; unable to build up the church in the 
knowledge and faith of the gospel. I do not 
doubt that among those called evangelists there 
have been many, to whom this description applies, 
whose only effort is, by the use of all means, 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 77 

within a given time, to collect as many as possible 
into a church ; who go from place to place, awak- 
ening a transient excitement, of which the results 
are far from satisfactory. This is not the kind 
of preaching which we would recommend. We 
would have the pastor himself, not the itinerant 
evangelist, so preach the gospel that by the bless- 
ing of God there shall always be many inquiring 
in earnest what they shall do to be saved, and 
that every communion season shall welcome to 
the church a company of recent converts. In a 
word, I would say that a state of continual revival 
is the proper and normal condition of a church 
of Christ. Nothing can more certainly promote 
its spiritual growth than this moral condition ; 
nothing so much calls into exercise all the graces 
of the Christian character as beholding the work 
of God in the conversion of sinners. It calls upon 
every drowsy Christian to awaken and do again 
the first works of repentance and faith. It sum- 
mons the established Christian to new and more 
self-denying effort, and gives an unwonted reality 
to the solemn truths of the world to come. It 
unveils their own hearts to the self-deceived, 
recalls backsliders from their wanderings, and fills 
the whole church with the spirit of humility, love, 
penitence, and zeal. When a church is blessed 
with frequent conversions, their effects upon the 



78 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

souls of Christians are continually manifesting 
themselves. Nor are these results merely emo- 
tional. Men read their Bibles more; they pray 
more earnestly for the illumination of the Holy 
Spirit ; they are in the habit of conversing with 
each other and with unconverted persons on the 
subject of the soul's salvation ; and they cannot 
live thus without much and deep reflection on the 
most important doctrines of the gospel. Thus 
they grow in grace and in the knowledge of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

The object of the minister of Christ is not only 
to convert sinners, but to build up saints in the 
most holy faith. "Whom we preach," said the 
apostle, " warning every man, and teaching every 
man, in all wisdom, that we may present every 
man perfect in Christ Jesus." Such should be 
the object of all the apostle's successors, first to 
warn, and secondly to teach. 

The teaching for the edification of believers 
may be either doctrinal, experimental, or practical. 
Let us briefly consider each of them. 

A deeper insight into the truths of revelation is 
the condition by which all spiritual growth is 
limited. The Scriptures contain the message of 
the eternal God to every individual of the race 
of man ; and it is of the greatest importance to 
every individual that he understand it. "All 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 79 

scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of 
God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
good works." To advance this knowledge, is one 
of the most important ends for which the ministry 
was instituted. The apostles frequently, and in 
the most earnest manner, urge upon their con- 
verts to increase in the knowledge of God ; in- . 
deed, they hardly ever press the necessity of grow- 
ing in grace, without, at the same time, urging 
the importance of a deeper understanding of the 
truths of religion. It is evident that a Christian 
can meditate on divine truth only as he has a 
knowledge of what it teaches ; he can defend re- 
ligion against its adversaries only as he knows 
what it is that he has to defend ; he cannot be 
prepared to encounter temptation, persecution and 
trial, " the day of battle and of war," unless he is 
furnished with the whole armor provided for him 
by the Captain of his salvation. 

The aim of the minister of Christ should, there- 
fore, be, to make his people first of all acquainted 
with the great truths of the gospel, and to make 
these throughout the burden of his message. It is 
by these alone that the Christian life is main- 
tained. "As new-born babes," says the apostle 
Peter, "desire the sincere [pure] milk of the 



80 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

word, that ye may grow thereby;" not fanciful 
human deductions from the word, but the pure, 
unadulterated word itself. We all know the em- 
inent usefulness of Legh Richmond as a minis- 
ter of Christ. His biographer informs us that he 
was often heard to declare " that two great sub- 
jects pervaded the Bible — sin and salvation from 
sin ; and that these ought to form the basis of the 
Christian ministry. In his addresses from the 
pulpit he never failed to point out, distinctly and 
forcibly, man's ruin by the fall ; his condition under 
the law, and his moral inability to deliver himself 
by any power or strength of his own ; the divin- 
ity and incarnation of the Son of God ; free and 
full justification through faith in the atoning blood 
and righteousness of the Redeemer ; the nature of 
justifying faith, its fruits and evidences; the 
agency of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration and 
sanctification of believers ; and the necessity of a 
renewed heart and of holiness of life, not as a 
title to heaven, but as a meetness for its enjoyment. 
"These doctrines have been the food of the 
church in all ages, the manna which has sustained 
her children in the many and diversified scenes of 
human trial and infirmity ; they have been the 
song of their pilgrimage, their joy in tribulation, 
their light in darkness, and their guide to life and 
immortality." 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 81 

I would ask, Are these topics, and others just 
like them, presented with sufficient frequency, dis- 
tinctness, and earnestness to our congregations ? 
Do they form the subject-matter of conversation 
among Christians? Let us take the evidence 
furnished by an ordinary conference meeting. A 
few exhortations to repent, urged in almost the 
same words by some two or three, and these gen- 
erally the same persons, form the matter of most 
of our meetings of this sort. When do we hear 
private Christians speak of the great doctrines of 
the gospel as if they were in the habit of reading 
the Bible and reflecting upon it? At an agricul- 
tural meeting men talk freely of agriculture. At 
a meeting of chemists they talk of chemistry 
in its various aspects, theoretical and practical. 
At such meetings men present their views on 
every matter of interest ; they tell their expe- 
riences, — what they have done, when they have 
succeeded, and when they have failed. Why 
should not Christians, when they come together, 
act on the same principles ? 

But it may be said that our hearers all have the 
Bible in their own language : the world is filled 
with books needful for the instruction of men in 
the knowledge of the truths of the word of God : 
this work may safely be left to Sabbath schools 
and Bible classes. Is the aid of the minister 
6 



82 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

required to do for the people what they can do 
for themselves ? 

In reply to this, it may be asked, What, then, is 
the need of the ministry at all? If the people can 
know their duty, and find for themselves the mo- 
tives for performing it, why not abolish the minis- 
try altogether? If the progress of the age has 
been so rapid that it is in advance of the ministry, 
and now, without the ministry, can do what for- 
merly it could only do with it, then has the min- 
istry become valueless, and we may, without loss, 
dismiss it. 

But I suppose a great object of the ministry to 
be, to lead our hearers to study the Bible for them- 
selves. The minister of Christ is set apart not to 
deliver his own theories, or to discuss matters 
merely incidental to the truths of the gospel, but 
to make known to men the ideas of the living 
God contained in the Scriptures. His preaching 
should teach men to understand the Bible better, 
and to love it more. That minister has nobly ac- 
complished his labor who has been the means of 
rendering his people earnest, devout, and intelli- 
gent students of the Scriptures. As I have said 
before, in preparing to preach, the minister should 
ascertain, as far as possible, the very idea commu- 
nicated by the Spirit in the text which he has 
chosen. If he have done this, the text will fasten 



TEE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 83 

itself upon the mind of the hearer, the sermon 
will enable him to understand the text, the text 
will enable him to remember the sermon, and both 
will be treasured up for spiritual instruction. 

But all this benefit is lost when a text is taken 
merely as a matter of form, simply as a motto, 
with which the ensuing discourse has no connec- 
tion ; or when some isolated phrase is taken as a 
text, and a large part of a discourse is employed in 
showing that an inference may be drawn from it 
which every one sees to be entirely alien from the 
obvious scope of the passage. Is it any wonder 
that men come to consider the Bible unlike any 
other book, a book of riddles, in which every sen- 
tence may be made to mean whatever the preacher 
pleases, and which no one but the preacher is able 
to explain ? Is it any wonder that Christians lose 
all confidence in their power to explain for them- 
selves a book which is susceptible of so great a 
variety of almost opposite interpretations? 

And here it may not be inappropriate to ask, 
Why is it that expository preaching has so entirely 
died out among us?. When ministers had com- 
paratively little theological education, such preach- 
ing was very common. It was entirely destitute 
of theological learning, but it was simple and de- 
vout, and in most cases threw some light upon the 
subject, and, at any rate, generally induced the 



84 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

hearers to examine it for themselves. Now, when 
eight or ten years are spent in the study of lan- 
guage, and in preparation for the ministry, we very 
rarely hear anything of the kind. Can it be that 
after all this study men are unwilling to trust 
themselves to explain and enforce a paragraph of 
the word of God ? Or is it supposed that this kind 
of preaching is beneath the dignity of the pulpit, 
and is to be resigned to Sabbath schools and Bible 
classes? But I will pursue the subject no further 
in this direction. Let every minister ask himself 
whether he has not been deficient in this respect. 

The benefits of expository preaching are mani- 
fold. In the first place, the particular passage, with 
its connections, the scope of the thought, with the 
special force of its individual expressions, are laid 
open to the mind of the hearer. It will henceforth 
be a bright spot, which will shine with a clear light 
in all his subsequent readings. , If its practical and 
experimental lessons have been adequately set 
forth, he will turn to it with a never-failing inter- 
est in the constantly recurring vicissitudes of life. 
From one such passage he will derive a more dis- 
tinct knowledge of duty, from another he will learn 
how to guard against or to resist temptation, and 
from another he will seek sustaining grace in aifiic- 
tion ; and thus his Bible will be studded with gems 
which he probably would otherwise never have 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 85 

discovered. How many of our congregations at 
the present day have had their Bibles thus enriched 
by the expositions of the minister of Christ ? 

But we may go further. By thus becoming 
familiar with the manner in which the minister 
unfolds the word of God, the hearer learns to do 
it himself. He acquires the power of putting his 
whole mind into immediate contact with the word 
of God. He finds that there is an important mean- 
ing in every paragraph, and he has faith to believe 
that he can discover that meaning if he will. He 
sees it done every Sabbath by another: why should 
he not do it himself ? The Bible ceases to be to 
him a book of riddles, or of broken, disconnected 
sentences, but a book which he is confident that 
God meant him to understand. He prays for the 
aid of the Holy Spirit ; he reads a passage over 
and over again with the best (and these are com- 
monly the briefest) aids in his power, and, more than 
all, with the humble and earnest desire to know 
the whole will of God that he may do it. Follow- 
ing the example of his minister, he seeks for the 
leading thought of the passage ; he seeks for its 
connection with that which immediately follows; 
he observes how these bear on the next. He thus 
gains a knowledge of the direction in which the 
thought is moving forward. Hence the connection 
of the several parts with each other becomes ob- 



86 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

vious. At last, a line of light shines upon this an- 
nouncement of divine truth by which each portion 
is made severally luminous, and each casts its light 
upon every other. He reads and reads again, and 
at every repetition his soul comes into more inti- 
mate communion with the divine idea on which he 
meditates, until, with Watts, he can say : — 

" And when my spirit drinks her fill 
At some sweet word of thine, 
Not mighty men, who share the spoil, 
Have joys compared with mine." 

Is it not worth the effort of a lifetime to produce 
such an effect as this on immortal souls — souls for 
whom Christ died ? Compare with it the reputa- 
tion for rhetorical skill, the praise of fine writing, 
the thanks of gay disciples " in language soft as 
adulation breathes," for the intellectual treat which 
they have enjoyed, and how contemptible do they 
all appear ! It is the will of Christ that we should 
"feed the church of God, which he has purchased 
with his own blood;" and does it not become us 
to " be about our Master's business " ? 

The Scriptures abundantly teach us that the 
carnal mind is enmity against God, not loving to 
retain God in its knowledge. They also teach us 
that in regeneration, without which we cannot see 
the kingdom of God, the affections of the soul are 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 87 

changed, and are set on things above and not on 
things on the earth. The renewed man has a new 
object for which he lives: it is Christ who died 
for him and rose again. The things which once 
awakened in him the keenest interest have now 
lost their power to charm him. His paramount 
desire is not to please himself, nor his fellow-men, 
but God, who trieth the heart, and who so loved 
him that he gave his Son for his redemption. 

But the heart of the believer is only imperfectly 
sanctified. Habits which have been the growth of 
a lifetime are not at once eradicated. Impulses 
that from infancy have never known restraint, 
require many an effort before they can yield a 
cheerful submission to the divine will. Associa- 
tions tending to evil that are awakened by every- 
thing around us, cannot in a moment be annihilated. 
But all these once cherished or scarcely observed 
tendencies are now the burden and grief of the 
renewed soul. His aim is to be perfect, as his 
Father in heaven is perfect. He knows that if he 
yield himself to the practice of any sin he cannot 
be a disciple of Christ. Hence the warfare of 
which the Scriptures speak, of the flesh against 
the spirit. Hence the ceaseless conflict which is 
going on within him, the striving of the new man 
against the sin that dwelleth in him. His spiritual 
enemy is ever on the alert to surprise him in an 



88 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

unguarded moment, and pollute his best services 
with sin. All these enemies of his soul he must 
resist; nay, all of these he must conquer; for the 
crown of eternal life is given only to the victor. 
" To him that overcometh will I give to sit with 
me in my throne, even as I have overcome and am 
set down with my Father in his throne." 

Now, it is obvious that such a life as this must 
have its own peculiar experiences, and it can at- 
tain its object only by the aid to be derived from 
the teachings of the word of God. The youthful 
Christian needs to be instructed in the nature of 
that law to which his whole life is to be subjected, 
and which is quick and powerful, piercing to the 
dividing of the soul and spirit. He should be 
taught its bearing upon all his conduct, whether in 
thought, or word, or action. He must be instructed 
in the mode of resisting the first approaches of 
evil, and of banishing at the outset what seem to 
be only little sins. If he loses the fervor of his 
first love and is in danger of turning back into the 
world, he must be taught the danger of his posi- 
tion and the only way of escape. Or, if he has 
been overtaken by sin, and is overwhelmed with 
a consciousness of guilt, he is to be brought in 
penitence and self-loathing to the cross of Christ, 
crying out from his inmost soul, " Create in me a 
clean heart, O God, and take not thy Holy Spirit 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 89 

from me." !N"or is this instruction needed alone by 
the young. Christians of every age need the warn- 
ings and cautions of a Christian minister. They 
all have their sorrows, their joys, their disappoint- 
ments, depressions, and temptations, each belonging 
to a different period of life ; for this warfare ceases 
not until death. The truths adapted to each case 
are treasured up in the word of God for his use, 
and from them the minister is to draw things both 
new and old, and to present them in public and in 
private. On no subjects can a minister discourse 
with greater profit to his brethren than such as I 
have here indicated. 

ISTor is this all. The child of God is living in a 
world lying in wickedness, in all its aspects adverse 
to a life of faith. The things that are seen and 
temporal, its wealth, its power, its pride of life, its 
sensual pleasures, attract us, and without ceaseless 
vigilance unto prayer, with humble reliance on the 
Spirit of God, we shall be led away until our feet, 
like those of Bunyan's pilgrim, stumble on the dark 
mountains. These, then, are the various vicissitudes 
of life which are sent for the trial of our faith, or for 
the sake of fatherly chastisement. Prosperity is a 
sore trial to the disciples of our day. The love of 
riches grows by what it feeds on ; and if in the time 
of Christ it was hard for a rich man to enter into 
the kingdom of heaven, we fear it is no easier now. 



90 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

Then the love of his Father in heaven is seen in 
the removal of these idols, to show him how poor 
a portion is anything earthly. Sickness, pain, and 
bereavement are employed for the same blessed pur- 
pose. Now, all these varied experiences are sent to 
lis for one definite end, our advancement in holiness. 
But the Christian will learn thus to esteem them 
only by contemplating them in the light of the 
word of God ; in reliance on the exceeding great 
and precious promises. It is the privilege of the 
minister of Christ to bring these spiritual consola- 
tions before his people, to render them skilful in 
the use of all the weapons of the holy warfare, 
that they may be beforehand prepared to meet 
every trial that shall assail them. How blessed is 
the church that is thus strengthened with might, 
by the Spirit, in the inner man ! When prosperity 
is sent they receive it with thankfulness, rejoicing 
that they have more to consecrate to the service 
of God. When disaster overtakes them, or be- 
reavements crush them to the earth, or trials more 
bitter than bereavements agitate every feeling of 
the soul, they know that the hand that presses 
upon them is the hand of a Father, and say, with 
Job, " Shall we receive good at the hand of the 
Lord, and shall we not receive evil ? " or, with a 
greater than Job, " The cup which my Father hath 
given me, shall I not drink it ? " Blessed is the 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 91 

minister who is thus the means of training souls 
for heaven, and who sees the people of his charge 
always and everywhere witnesses for Christ. Their 
outward conduct testifies to the world that religion 
is a reality, while the inward life, that sustains and 
governs it, is nourished by the indwelling of the 
Spirit of God. Cowper's well-known lines exqui- 
sitely describe such a relation between a Christian 
pastor and his people : — 

" By him the violated law speaks out 
Its thunders ; and by him, in strains as sweet 
As angels use, the gospel whispers peace. 
He 'stablishes the strong, restores the weak, 
Eeclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart, 
And, armed himself in panoply complete 
Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms 
Bright as his own, and trains, by every rule 
Of holy discipline, to glorious war, 
The sacramental host of God's elect." 

— Task, Book II. 

Intimately connected with this branch of our 
subject is the distinct and discriminating exhibition 
of, the evidences of Christian character. This will, 
in part, be accomplished by the experimental 
preaching of which I have just spoken. When we 
set forth the dealings of the soul with God, the 
joys and sorrows, the temptations and deliverances 
of a religious life, even without reference to the 



92 MINISTRY OF TBE GOSPEL. 

difference between all this and the experiences of 
the ungodly, we might, perhaps, expect that men 
would make the application for themselves, and 
determine whether or not they were regenerate 
men. Such is manifestly the tendency of such 
preaching, and hence the proof of its great impor- 
tance. But so manifold is the deceitfulness of the 
human heart that men will, if possible, escape 
the force of any truth that w r ould lead to conse- 
quences which they dislike. We must, therefore, 
come nearer, and so present the evidences of per- 
sonal piety that no man, if he will give attention 
to what we say, can possibly mistake them. 

What these evidences are I need not specify ; 
they may be found on every page of the New Tes- 
tament. If religion supposes a total change in the 
most important moral affections; if in regeneration 
enmity to God is transformed to filial love ; if the 
love of sin is exchanged for the love of holiness ; 
if self-denial for the good of others assumes the 
place of selfishness ; if the soul is animated with a 
desire in all things to do the whole will of God ; if 
it is enabled to look with a holy contempt upon all 
that this world can offer when it stands in compe- 
tition with the eternal weight of glory, then, surely, 
there is room enough for such an exhibition of 
these truths, in contrast with the workings of the 
unrenewed heart, as shall enable men to discover 
their moral condition in the sight of God. 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 93 

That there is need of such preaching, I think is 
evident from the condition of many of our churches. 
I fear that of those who make a profession of reli- 
gion among us, many do not enjoy the comfort of 
a firm and assured hope resting on a scriptural 
foundation. Do we not find some whose hope 
rests upon the fact of their supposed conversion 
some fifteen or twenty years since; others on their 
love to the particular church with which they are 
connected; others on the perfect orthodoxy of 
their belief; and others on the fact that they would 
not give up their hope for a thousand worlds ? It 
is unnecessary here to state that none of these is a 
foundation on which to rest the destinies of an im- 
mortal soul. Such persons are, therefore, destitute of 
one of the greatest blessings : a good hope through 
grace. I would, however, by no means assert that 
all such persons are of course destitute of true 
piety. There may exist in their characters genu- 
ine evidences of a renewed mind, which they them- 
selves have never learned to appreciate. Were 
these faithfully and clearly exhibited, they might 
attain a well-grounded hope, and their present 
grounds of reliance would vanish away. But of 
such persons it is not too much to say that many 
must be self-deceived. Hence the great impor- 
tance of urging upon all men the necessity of 
self-examination, and of teaching them what are 



94 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

the certain evidences of a renewed nature. The 
true disciple would then find within himself the 
evidences that he was in the narrow way that lead- 
eth unto life ; and, knowing in whom he believed, 
would grow in grace and become a steadfast and 
established Christian. The hope of the self-de- 
ceived would wither away, and he would be made 
aware of his danger before it was too late. I know 
of no preaching that would, with the blessing of 
God, tend more directly to the building up of 
Christians in their most holy faith, than that in 
which this subject is set forth with faithfulness, 
simplicity, and unfeigned love. Thus when the 
prophet speaks of an improved condition of reli- 
gion in the ancient church, — " when they that feared 
the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord 
hearkened and heard it ; and a book of remem- 
brance was written before him for them that feared 
the Lord and that thought upon his name," — he 
adds : " Then shall ye return and discern between 
the righteous and the wicked, — between him that 
serveth God, and him that serveth him not." 

The effect of this sort of preaching upon the 
irreligious part of a congregation cannot but be 
beneficial. When the evidences of a renewed and 
unrenewed soul are clearly set forth, such persons 
must clearly see that they have no reason to 
believe themselves children of God. They must 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 95 

be driven to the conclusion that if the religion of 
the gospel be true, they are in great clanger. Their 
minds, are thus open to conviction. The terrors of 
the law have now a personal application to them- 
selves, and they may thus be led to seek for that 
which they know they have not, and which has 
undoubtedly a real existence. 

For what reason I know not, this style of preach- 
ing has gone almost out of vogue. It seems almost 
taken for granted, that every one whose name is 
recorded on the books of a church has his name 
also written in the book of life ; that all the virgins 
who went forth to meet the bridegroom were wise ; 
and that the solemn cautions in the Scriptures 
against self-deception and apostasy, have, for some 
reason, become useless and inappropriate. It would 
appear that it is considered in bad taste to suggest 
that any of the members of the church are in 
danger, through self-deception or apostasy, of being 
lost forever. The apostles certainly did not take 
this view of the subject. The same want of faith- 
fulness is liable to appear in our addresses to the 
congregation. Who would suppose, from much 
of our preaching, that there is a large part of every 
audience unreconciled to God ; enemies to him by 
wicked works, and at this very moment in danger 
of eternal perdition ? The aim of our preaching 
would seem to be to send every hearer away 



96 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

well pleased ; and so to allude to the most solemn 
realities, that no one should be so far removed 
from his proprieties as to cry out, Men and breth- 
ren, what shall I do? Hence it is not surprising 
that many a professor of religion quiets himself 
with the belief that he is as good as his brethren, 
while those who have made no profession consider 
themselves not far from the kingdom of heaven ; 
indeed, so near to it that they can step into it at 
any moment, and that, if they do not, it is no great 
matter, for that, somehow or other, such persons as 
they will eventually be saved. I ask, Does not our 
preaching tend to precisely this result in the con- 
gregations of every denomination? I do not mean 
that such a belief is openly avowed, but does it not 
commonly exist everywhere around us ? Is it, then, 
a matter of surprise that there are so few conver- 
sions among our hearers in middle life ; and that 
such numbers attend the worship of God for a life- 
time, and quietly die without having ever had a 
single solemn, earnest thought of God, of salvation, 
or the judgment to come? Does this correspond 
with the apostle's view of the ministry of the gos- 
pel : " ISTow, then, we are ambassadors for Christ ; 
as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you, 
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God " ? 

This letter is already too long ; but, before I 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 97 

conclude, I must consider practical religion as a 
field for the labor of the preacher. 

I have long since been convinced that we all 
greatly err in not preaching with faithfulness and 
plainness upon the conduct which Christ requires 
of his disciples. Many of our hearers, and not a 
few religious men, are guilty of habitual wrong- 
doing simply from ignorance, an ignorance which 
should have been dispelled by our teachings from 
the pulpit. 

v Christians, as we all know, have been taken out 
from the world in which all their previous habits 
have been formed. They once obeyed the com- 
mands, and accepted without a question the max- 
ims and precedents, of the society by which they 
were surrounded. Adjusting their moral standard 
by the public opinion of their neighbors, their ac- 
tions gave no alarm to th*eir conscience. When 
the light of the Holy Spirit shone into their hearts, 
it first of all displayed to them their sin against 
God. "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and 
done evil in thy sight." And when the soul submit- 
ted to God, it joyfully covenanted to keep all his 
commandments, as far as it should know them; but 
of many of the requirements of that law, which is 
exceeding broad, he must of necessity be ignorant. 
A blind man restored to sight sees the sun clearly, 
which he never saw before ; but time and instruc- 
7 



98 MINISTRY OF TBE GOSPEL. 

tion are necessary before he will be able to discover 
and appreciate the ordinary objects of e very-day 
life. So the renewed man, while truly submitting 
his whole soul to God, may not at first see the ap- 
plication of the moral law to every condition and 
relation of life. He greatly needs instruction on 
this subject, and will generally receive it with 
affectionate gratitude. I know of no means by 
which a pastor can more surely endear himself to 
his people, than by teaching them how they may 
obey the law of God more perfectly. 

I will come to particular instances, for thus only 
can I hope to be understood. How few youthful 
Christians hesitate to spend a large portion of 
their time in reading works of fiction, which tend 
to no other end than to fill the memory with friv- 
olous conceptions, and pictures that allure us to- 
wards sin ! The book displays talent, it gratifies 
the love of excitement ; and the question whether 
such a use of time is innocent, or whether it pre- 
pares the soul for the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit, has never occurred to the thoughtless dis- 
ciple. How large a portion of the time of Chris- 
tian people is consumed in fashionable calling, social 
dissipation, trifling conversation, and attendance 
upon places of what is called innocent amusement, 
while they habitually complain that they have 
small time for reading the Scriptures and private 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 99 

devotion, and none for the meeting for prayer! 
How few Christians carry their religion into poli- 
tics, while the great majority vote with their party, 
without any regard to their allegiance to Christ ! 
How many Christian merchants, having received 
their mercantile education under an unscrupulous 
and successful man of the world, have in youth 
lost their sensibility of conscience, and now, from 
long habit, daily violate the teachings of the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, hardly suspecting that they are 
doing wrong ! How few of the transactions of 
trade are carried on upon the principles of strict 
veracity, while men take for their rule the conduct 
of others to them, instead of the law of the blessed 
Saviour ! How many persons, of whom, in most 
respects, we think well, are in the habit of large 
exaggeration! Do Christian men of business know 
that in the manner and the amount of their gain, 
and the use which they make of it, they are under 
the law of Christ, that law delivered to us in the 
Sermon on the Mount ? Do Christian men know 
that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and 
the pride of life, are, each one, not of the Father, 
but of the world ; and that God gives us prosperity 
that we may employ it for the promotion of that 
cause for which his Son became incarnate, and not 
for the gratification of those desires which offend 
him and ruin our own souls ? The effect of this 



100 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

want of practical knowledge of our duty is most de- 
plorable. The American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions, an institution that has no 
superior in Christendom, and which collects its 
funds from all the Northern States, does not re- 
ceive annually as much as is spent in the city of 
New York for cigars. A small city in New Eng- 
land, of fifty thousand inhabitants, collected in a 
few days, for bounty to volunteers, as much as the 
annual receipts of the American Baptist Missionary 
Union. Does this look as though our brethren of 
all denominations had been taught the Christian 
duty of stewardship ? 

Must there not be something wrong here ? Are 
we in the habit of setting forth, with all plainness, 
the claims of the law of Christ? Do we not 
only urge our hearers to be dead to the world, 
but do we tell them explicitly what being dead to 
the world means ? Who of us has, from the pul- 
pit, instructed his people in the doctrine of vera- 
city, tracing the violations of this law in its most 
prominent forms, in the house and store and 
counting-room, and in the various forms of social 
intercourse? Do not our people, then, sin for want 
of knowledge? I remember an instance which 
illustrates my meaning in this respect. A clergy- 
man in a populous town in New England preached 
a sermon on the text, "Thou shalt not steal." 



THE EDIFICATION OF BELIEVERS. 101 

On Monday morning the streets were all alive 
with persons carrying back to their owners books, 
utensils, and every variety of articles which they 
had borrowed, but which, from carelessness, they 
had for years neglected to return. They were no 
sooner reminded of their duty, than they cheer- 
fully hastened to perform it. It is from the want 
of such preaching that the church of Christ is so 
sadly conformed to the world. When the con- 
duct of professors of religion cannot be distin- 
guished from that of men of this world, of what 
use is it for a minister to insist on the necessity 
of a new birth? How great is the danger of 
Christians who are living a worldly life! Says 
Baxter, " How tenderly do we deal with the sins 
that are so cruelly destroying the souls of our 
people ! " 

But it may possibly be asked, Should a minister 
use personalities in the pulpit ? I answer, If he 
does, he ought never to en.ter it. To use the 
office of an ambassador of Christ for the purpose 
of personal abuse, is shameful and intolerable. 
This is not needed in order to the faithful dis- 
charge of our duty. He may be faithful to Christ 
without being abusive to men. Chalmers preached 
his sermons on " The application of the principles 
of the gospel to mercantile transactions," on 
Thursdays, to the merchants of Glasgow. His 



102 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

message was delivered with burning earnestness, 
irresistible power, and unshrinking fidelity; yet, 
from the beginning to the end of the series, there 
is not a single shade of personality. Why should 
we not do so to our people ? Many of them sin 
through ignorance, and would thank us for teach- 
ing them their duty more plainly. If any of them 
know their duty and are violating it for the sake 
of lucre, or any worldly motive, they specially 
need that their sin should be plainly set before 
them. Do we please men or God? Are we 
moved by the Holy Ghost to soothe men into a 
slumber from which they will awake only in a 
lost eternity, or to arouse them from their fatal 
security, and beseech them to be reconciled to 
God? 

Perhaps I may be allowed to mention a case 
within my own knowledge, in connection with 
this subject. At the commencement of the tem- 
perance movement, in common with many of my 
brethren, I preached on the duties of Christians, 
in reference to this, the sin in question, A day or 
two afterwards one of the most pious members of 
my church, who was largely engaged in the whole- 
sale liquor trade, came to see me, and said that 
if what I had said was true he must relinquish 
this part of his business. In a short time, at a 
great pecuniary sacrifice, he did so, and became 



THE EDIFICA TION OF BELIEVERS. 103 

one of the strongest supporters of the cause of 
temperance. He remained to the close of his life 
one of my dearest friends. This individual was 
the late John Sullivan, of Boston. 

But, it may be said, if we preach the gospel of 
Christ in such simplicity, we shall drive away 
from our churches the wealthy, the refined, the 
cultivated, and the intellectual ; or, if they remain, 
they will not be interested in our ministrations. 
I must say, I doubt it. Cultivated men have a 
conscience, as well as other men ; and it is to the 
conscience that the truth of the gospel commends 
itself. By addressing the taste and the imagina- 
tion instead of the conscience, we throw away at 
once the great instrument of our power. But 
grant that all this be so. I ask, are not all 
souls of equal value ? Would a minister preach 
in Latin because one tenth of his congregation 
preferred that language, while to nine tenths he 
would preach in an unknown tongue ? The same 
objection seems to have been made to the preach- 
ing of St. Paul at Corinth ; and how does he 
answer it? — "For ye see by our calling, brethren, 
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not 
many mighty, not many noble are called ; but God 
hath chosen the foolish things of the world to 
confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak 
things of the world to confound the things that 



104 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

are mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
things that are despised, hath God chosen ; yea, 
and things that are not, to bring to nought things 
that are, that no flesh should glory in his pres- 
ence." 

I am, yours, truly. 



LETTER VI. 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 



My Dear Brother : 

T HAVE written in my last letter about the 
-*- matter of a minister's preaching. I have now 
some remarks to make concerning the manner 
of it. 

The manner in which the message of the gospel 
should be communicated is apparent, if we con- 
sider the nature of the message and the persons 
to whom it is addressed. Here is a company of 
human beings about to enter an eternity in which 
there can be no change. This short and uncertain 
life is their only period of probation. The decree 
must soon go forth, " He that is holy, let him be 
holy still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy 
still." All are sinners against God, and deserving 
his condemnation. In infinite love he has pro- 
vided, through the atonement of his Son, a way 
of pardon and reconciliation, the benefits of which 
he offers freely to all who will repent and believe. 
He has sent this man to make known this good 



106 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

news to this people, and to plead with them, to 
accept of it. If they reject it, they sink under the 
condemnation of the law which they have broken ; 
if they accept it, they rise to glory and everlasting 
life. Most of this audience are unreconciled to 
God, liable at every moment to plunge into a lost 
eternity. Others profess to have embraced the 
message of salvation ; but they are liable to self- 
deception, and, in a world abounding in tempta- 
tions, may be seduced into apostasy. Such is the 
message, and such the condition of the people, 
whom a minister addresses every time he rises in 
the pulpit. Was not the question of the apostle 
appropriate, "Who is sufficient for these things?" 
But it is to be observed that this audience is of 
a very miscellaneous character. They are of ev- 
ery age, from the child in the Sabbath school to 
its venerable grandparent. There are assembled 
men and women of every variety of cultivation, 
A small portion of the audience may be persons 
of educated and disciplined minds; the greater 
part belong to the middle walks of life ; some are 
poor ; many are young persons, just entering upon 
the realities of the world, or, if more advanced, 
are men of active business, of strong common- 
sense, though destitute of the advantages of liter- 
ary culture. Great as may be these differences, in 
one respect they are all on a level: all are tending 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 107 

to the same judgment-seat, and all must hear the 
announcement, " Come, ye blessed of my Father," 
or, " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire ; " and 
their final condition depends upon the reception 
which they give to the message of salvation. 

Such being the audience, and such the occasion 
of his address, it is obvious that the first requisite 
in the manner of the minister's communication, is, 
that he be thoroughly understood by every one 
of his hearers who is of sufficient capacity to 
comprehend his message. 

1. His words must be such as all his audience, 
of ordinary capacity, can understand. The mes- 
sage of salvation was first communicated to men, 
by the Son of God, in such language that the 
common people heard him gladly. The gospel 
may be understood by little children, else what is 
the use of Sabbath schools? Janeway's "Token 
for Children" relates many cases of conversion in 
quite young persons. The daughter of President 
Edwards gave unequivocal evidences of piety, I 
think, at the age of four years. In a very interest- 
ing revival with which I was acquainted, one of 
the most interesting converts was an intelligent 
young person, of eight years of age, who has lately 
finished her course with joy. We all believe 
that Sabbath-school teachers should labor for the 
immediate conversion of their pupils ; but this, 



108 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

of course, supposes it possible that they can make 
themselves understood. It may be said that these 
teachers are young persons and imperfectly edu- 
cated, and it cannot be expected that learned men 
can render their weighty thoughts comprehensible 
to children and ignorant men and women. Then, 
I say, if the effect of learning is to keep men from 
being understood by the common people, the less 
we have of it the better. The use of learning is 
to make these truths perfectly plain ; and he who 
renders it the means of making them obscure, 
deserves to be esteemed a smatterer and a sham. 
We may be pretty sure that his learning is little, 
and his common-sense less. 

I say that the words used in the pulpit should 
be such as the whole audience can understand. 
It is not sufficient that the words can be found in 
Webster's or Worcester's Dictionary, or that they 
occur sometimes in magazines and reviews. Peo- 
ple do not carry either Webster or Worcester to 
church with them ; nor is the percentage large, in 
any ordinary congregation, who read magazines 
and reviews. The words should be, in the main, 
such as we would use in common conversation 
with the people whom we address ; that is, estab- 
lished and well-known English. In some denomi- 
nations, the use of abstract theological terms, 
intended to convey the endless distinctions of the 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 109 

schoolmen, is common. When I say theological, I 
refer to those terms which have been invented to 
express the ideas of man, and not the words used in 
Scripture to express the ideas of God. Whatever 
may be said to the contrary, I can hardly con- 
ceive that a minister can use the language of the 
Scriptures in the pulpit too freely, provided he 
use it appropriately and reverently. Let a man 
read the sermons of Leighton, and Baxter, or Jay, 
or Payson, if he would learn how greatly familiar- 
ity with the language of the Scripture adds to the 
power of him who addresses his fellow-men on 
the subject of their salvation. 

I remember, nevertheless, that John Foster, a 
very high authority, attributes the aversion of men 
of taste to revealed religon, in part, at least, to 
the irreverent, and frequently ludicrous manner, 
in which the Scriptures are quoted in the pulpit. 
There may be, no doubt, a foundation for the cen- 
sure of the great essayist; though it must be a 
very slight one, for the preachers whom he con- 
demns, and the persons whom he supjDOses to be 
injured by them, do not often come in contact. 
Be this, however, as it may, the effect of the essay 
has been, I think, upon the whole, decidedly mis- 
chievous. It has led many preachers to suppose 
that it was out of taste, or indicative of a want of 
education, or, in fact, decidedly rustic, to quote 



110 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

frequently from the Scriptures. It has led to the 
belief that the language of the pulpit must have 
nothing to distinguish it from that of any secular 
composition, and that a popular article in a review 
may well serve as a model for the style of a ser- 
mon. Hence the style of the pulpit is becoming 
secular ; and frequently, after the reading of the 
text, you will not hear a Scriptural expression 
until the final amen, which has not yet been dis- 
pensed with. The same paper has not very un- 
frequently been put to triple duty. It first appears 
as a sermon, then as a platform address, or as a 
lecture before some literary society, and then as an 
article for some popular magazine, to which it 
may easily be adapted by cutting off the text and 
omitting a few sentences of the closing paragraph. 
It has thus naturally come to the pass, that 
words are introduced into sermons which a great 
part of the audience never meet with in their lim- 
ited reading, or hear used in ordinary conversa- 
tion. Some of these are derived from the Latin, 
but a greater part from the German. We hear 
much of the "objective and subjective," of "stand- 
points," "of the great problem of human exist- 
ence," and a variety of other problems. Allusion 
is frequent to such sciences as Political Economy, 
Chemistry, Geology, and Astronomy. Each one 
of these furnishes its addition to the vocabulary 



MANNER OF PREACHING. Ill 

of the pulpit, to say nothing of the terms some- 
times derived from sjDiritualism and its kindred 
delusions. Now all this seems to me unfortunate. 
If these terms are understood, they bring the mes- 
sage of God into too near a relation to things 
secular; if not understood, they clothe the whole 
discourse with mist and obscurity, — it may be a 
bright mist, but it is a mist notwithstanding. 
With the vain and frivolous it may give the 
preacher a reputation for great depth of learning ; 
for men generally consider that to be profound 
which they do not understand. I ask, Is there 
any idea on the great subject of man's salvation, 
is there any idea which the Holy Spirit would 
have us communicate to men, which cannot be 
expressed in plain Saxon-English ? This is the 
language which all men understand; and, for plain- 
ness and force, it stands unrivalled. Can any 
man give a sufficient reason why we should not 
use it in our addresses from the pulpit ? 

But the style of the pulpit, if I apprehend it 
aright, is also in some respects exceptionable. Im- 
proper words occur only occasionally; but style 
pervades everything. I fear that the tendency of 
the pulpit is to a style which, in a great measure, 
fails to accomplish the purpose for which it is in- 
tended. It is a written and not a spoken style. 
It deals with truth in the abstract, and is rather 



112 MINIS TR Y OF THE G OSPEL. 

suited to a dissertation than a popular address. 
The most solemn truths are so indirectly alluded 
to, that the hearer either fails to comprehend the 
meaning of the speaker, or else sees it through a 
glass darkly, and never thinks of it as a matter 
of personal application. The tendency is to show 
how things are, and not what we, as individuals, 
have to do. We sometimes hear an attempt to 
elucidate some thesis more or less connected with 
revealed truth, — handsomely written, adorned with 
figurative language, and illustrated by allusions to 
the literature of the day, — leaving the hearers to 
make the application, if indeed there is any appli- 
cation to be made. The sentences are all cor- 
rectly constructed. The manuscript is prepared 
for the press, if any are desirous to print it. But 
its mode pf communicating truth is very different 
from that which men use when they address each 
other on a subject of practical importance. And 
what are the hearers doing during its delivery? 
Within a few minutes after the preacher has com- 
menced, one eye after another begins to gaze on 
vacancy, the mind has wandered off in some other 
direction; a large part of the audience has evi- 
dently lost the train of thought, if there be a train 
of thought ; watches begin to be pulled out ; one 
after another falls asleep; only here and there is 
one to be found who has followed the speaker to 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 113 

the close. Nor is this to be wondered at ; on the 
contrary, it is just what might have been ex- 
pected. The sermon has been composed, not for 
these men and women and children, but for the 
author's conception of humanity in the abstract ; 
that is, for a certain being possessed of taste, 
understanding, and possibly conscience ; or, if 
for the audience addressed, for only one in twenty 
of them. The one in twenty may have followed 
the speaker ; but it was not designed for the rest, 
and the rest neither understood nor even heard it. 
We frequently hear of the eloquence of Demos- 
thenes. His Philippics were addressed to the 
public assembly of the citizens of Athens, and 
have transmitted his name to us with imperishable 
honor. Yet I do not believe that there was a 
man in all that vast assembly who did not under- 
stand every sentence on the instant that Demos- 
thenes uttered it. Their whole essence is, as it 
appears to me, plain, simple, concentrated, burn- 
ing common-sense. We search these discourses 
in vain for the flowers of rhetoric, for fine writing 
in any of its forms, for beauty of expression which 
shall disguise an important truth ; but we find 
everywhere the outpouring of a soul intensely in 
earnest, which can find utterance in nothing but 
the most direct appeal, the most pungent questions, 
and the simplest reasonings from what they all 
8 



114 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

knew and felt, thus coming home to the business 
and bosom of every man who heard him. No one 
left that assembly praising Demosthenes for being 
a fine writer, or an elegant rhetorician ; but every 
man learned that there was something for him 
to do, and the universal cry arose, " Let us march 
against Philip." So the sermon which creates in 
the hearer nothing but admiration of the speaker, 
is always a failure. That only is a successful ser- 
mon which sends every hearer to his closet with 
the importunate inquiry, " What shall I do to be 
awed?" 

I cannot leave the consideration of the manner 
of preaching, without expressing the opinion that 
we have greatly erred in substituting reading from 
a manuscript for direct, unwritten address. If a 
dissertation on some religious subject were uttered 
without notes, the speaker would frequently grow 
warm in the delivery, and eye meeting eye, he 
would commonly attract the attention of a portion, 
at least, of an audience. A mutual sympathy 
binds men together when they look into each 
other's faces ; it acts and re-acts on both parties ; 
and the speaker instinctively labors to carry the 
audience along with him. But when an abstract 
dissertation on some not very interesting topic is 
deliberately read to an assembly, the eyes of the 
speaker being riveted to his manuscript, and never 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 115 

meeting those of his audience, the effect upon the 
hearers must be as small as possible. Now, is not 
the tendency of much of our preaching towards 
this absolute negative of all practical effect ? Do 
not our audiences commonly leave the house of 
God as unconcerned about the great subject of the 
soul's salvation as they entered it ? The conver- 
sion of a sinner under a sermon has come to be a 
very rare occurrence. A few are pleased with the 
style, a few admire the imagery, a few suppose it to 
be profound, because they do not understand it; 
but no one is made to feel himself a sinner against 
God, and no one asks, "What shall I do to be 
saved ?" And, alas ! if he should ask the question, 
would he find anything in the sermon to answer 
it? 

These two methods of preparation for the pul- 
pit tend to awaken dissimilar states of religious 
feeling. When we write in a quiet study, we 
may it is true, and if we believe what we preach 
we actually do, look up to the Holy Spirit for 
his guidance and direction. But still the ten- 
dency is apt to be rather to the intellectual than 
the moral. In writing we strive to present some 
doctrine clearly, to express it correctly and rhetor- 
ically, and if we have done this to be satisfied. 
We cannot rise to that feeling of earnestness 
which enables us to press home the truth which 



116 .MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

we have presented, directly and affectionately 
npon the conscience. We feel that we cannot 
write what we know we ought to say ; at least 
this, I must confess, has been my own experience. 
During the preparation of the manuscript there is 
none of that sensibility of the presence of an 
audience that makes a preacher tremble in his 
knees, without which it is said that no one ever 
spoke well. The sermon is arranged according to 
the rules, and by this test the writer knows that 
it is a good one, that the audience ought to like it ; 
and with this he is too prone to be content. He 
enters the pulpit with more or less of this assur- 
ance. He has no need to pray for the assistance 
of the Holy Spirit so far as the matter is con- 
cerned, for that is all prepared already. He may 
pray that it may be received into good hearts, but 
he has no wish that it be different from what it is. 
He has no fear of breaking down, if only his voice 
and eye-sight remain ; for it is all plainly written 
out to a syllable before him. He reads it with 
such animation as may be natural to him, or with 
none at all, looking steadily at his manuscript, and 
rarely or never catching the eyes of his audience. 
If he makes a gesture, it is with his eyes fixed on 
his paper; one hand on the line which he is in 
danger of losing, and the other sawing the air 
without any kind of significance. When he closes, 



MANNER OF PRE A CHING. 117 

he perhaps feels that he has not succeeded in 
arresting the attention of the people. He has 
labored hard, but the result has not corresponded 
with the pains that he has taken. Something has 
been the matter, but he does not know what it is. 
On the other hand, let a man know that he is 
about to address an audience on a subject of infi- 
nite importance, looking them directly in the eyes, 
and speaking as man speaketh to man, with the 
simple design of leading them at once to some 
action which shall affect their destinies for eternity. 
He prayerfully selects a subject which seems best 
adapted to the wants of his people. Looking for 
the promised aid of the Holy Spirit, he endeavors 
to penetrate its meaning, and discover its applica- 
tions to those whom he is to address. His prepara- 
tion is a constant intercourse between his spirit 
and the Spirit of all truth. His object is to say 
precisely what is given him to say by the Mas- 
ter. The style in which he shall make known 
the truth gives him no uneasiness, for he is accus- 
tomed in conversation to use good English ; there 
is no reason why he should not use it in the pulpit, 
and that is all that is required. Filled thus with 
his subject, he comes before his people to deliver 
his message. As he looks around him, and reflects 
upon the position which he holds and the conse- 
quences which may ensue to his hearers and him- 



118 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

self from the service before him, his heart sinks 
within him, and he not only knows, but feels, that 
there is no help for him but in God. He pleads 
the promises, and looks up to the Holy Spirit for 
aid, casting aside all desire to please men ; and, con- 
scious that he has no other intention than to de- 
clare the whole counsel of God, he rises to speak. 
The audience at once perceive that he is deeply in 
earnest. They look upon him with sympathy, such 
as nothing but unaffected earnestness can awaken. 
Their attention inspires him with confidence, and 
he proceeds in the delivery of his message. Gain- 
ing strength as he advances, he feels himself at 
home before his audience ; and when he sits down 
he is conscious that, to the best of his ability, he 
has made known the whole counsel of God. He 
may frequently, at first, be aware of failure, and 
find that, in the agitation of the moment, the 
thoughts which he deemed most important escaped 
from his recollection. But with every attempt 
the liability of failure diminishes. He acquires the 
power of thinking on his legs. His trembling, 
agitated reliance on the Holy Spirit is changed 
into habitual trustful confidence. He never rises 
in the pulpit without an earnest, cheerful hope of 
producing some immediate, practical effect upon 
his hearers. Nor is he apt to be disappointed. 
The example of his sincerity and love animates 



MANNER OF PREACHING, 119 

Christians, and attracts the attention of the care- 
less ; for it is not in man not to be affected by that 
genuine love of souls that shines in the eye and 
speaks in the tones of a faithful and beseeching am- 
bassador of Christ. The Spirit speaks through him 
to the hearts of men ; saints are established in the 
faith, and sinners are turned to righteousness. 

I, of course, by no means assert that all preach- 
ers from manuscript are such as I have referred to 
in the first example, or that all preachers without 
notes are such as I have described in the second. 
I know well that some of our most effective preach- 
ers have always used written preparation, and that 
some of our least useful ministers preach extempo- 
raneously. I speak not of individual cases, and 
only insist on the tendency of these two modes of 
preparation. Let it be granted that the promises 
of the gospel mean anything, and let it be conceded 
that there is any Holy Spirit, and then let any one 
compare these two methods of addressing our 
fellow-men on the subject of their souls' salvation, 
and decide which is more likely to become a bless- 
ing to the minister himself, and which is the more 
likely to bring a blessing to his hearers. 

I know it is frequently said that the subject on 
which a minister preaches is so important, and it 
is of so much consequence that men should know 
the exact truth, that we ought not to trust our- 



120 . MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

selves to speak from the pulpit without the most 
carefully written preparation. 

But let us not be led astray by words ; let us 
look at realities. Do written sermons always con- 
vey sound theology (and by sound theology I 
mean the simple truth revealed to us by our 
Saviour and his apostles)? Do men professing the 
same sentiments as ourselves never read from a 
manuscript statements of doctrine to which we can- 
not assent ? It is said we need carefully written 
preparations. But how often do the most of us 
deliver from the pulpit carefully written discourses, 
except it be at ordinations, or on some other special 
occasions? A really extemporaneous discourse 
may be written as well as spoken without writing. 
A large proportion of our written discourses is 
prepared in a driving hurry, late on Saturday night, 
and sometimes between the services on the Sab- 
bath ; and the thoughts are huddled together with 
little arrangement, and less meditation. Is not 
such a sermon, though written^ liable to all the 
objections commonly raised against extempore 
preaching? Nay, if the same time had been spent 
in earnest thought, would not the discourse have 
been more carefully prepared than by the simple 
process of writing? Men seem to suppose that 
what is written must, of course, be sound sense. 
I confess I have not always found it so ; and I 



MANNER OF PRE A CHING. 121 

have sometimes been tempted to ask, Would a 
preacher be willing to look his audience in the 
face, and utter such common-place truisms as he 
delivers from a manuscript, looking on his paper ? 
But it is sometimes said that this power of 
preaching extempore is a special gift. This can 
hardly be the case. Those denominations which 
require extemporaneous preaching find no difficulty 
in supplying their pulpits with such preachers in 
abundance. 1 Students in college, in their debating 
societies, acquire a considerable facility in extem- 
pore speaking. Those of them who study law 
learn to speak extempore as a part of their pro- 
fession, while those who study for the miuistry 
cannot deliver a discourse of twenty-five or thirty 
minutes unless every word of it is written and 
laid before them. Now, what can be the reason 
of this ? When the Holy Ghost calls men to the 
ministry, does he, by that act, deprive them of the 
natural power of addressing their fellow-men most 
effectively ? Does the gift of the Holy Spirit de- 
prive men of the power of utterance, and take 
from them the aptness to teach which they pos- 
sessed before in common with other men ? I know 
that there are differences in the degree in which 

1 I see it mentioned in the papers that Rev. Dr. Begg has given 
notice that he will move the Presbytery to adopt means to put an end 
among the students to the reading of sermons in the Free Church of 
Scotland. 



122 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

the power of public speaking is bestowed, but by 
diligent attention and constant practice it may be 
acquired by any man who possesses the gifts re- 
quired for a minister of the gospel. Nay, the men 
who declare that it cannot be acquired are them- 
selves the strongest proof that on this subject they 
are in error. Attend any of our ecclesiastical 
meetings, associations, conventions, presbyteries, 
annual meetings of missionary organizations, and 
the very men who cannot preach without writing, 
if a question of interest arises, will speak, with the 
greatest fluency, for half an hour or more, even 
without any preparation. What they so readily do 
in one case, why should they not do in the other? 
But we do not apply the same rule to others 
which we assume for ourselves. We declare it is 
impossible for us to address men from the pulpit 
on the subject of religion, without writing out all 
we have to say. We leave the church, and descend 
to the lecture-room to attend a conference meet- 
ing. We expect our private members to address 
the audience on the very same subjects, but we 
never expect them to use a manuscript. What 
should we say, if, when we called upon one of our 
brethren to speak, he should excuse himself on the 
ground that he had not anything written ? What 
sort of a conference meeting would we have, if 
nothing was spoken which had not been written 



MANNER OF PREACHING, 123 

out, and then read after the manner of the pulpit ? 
I fancy that the minister and the readers would 
very soon constitute the entire audience. Why 
should we expect our brethren, engaged in the 
ordinary pursuits of life, to use a manner of ad- 
dressing an audience which we declare it impossi- 
ble for us to acquire after eight or ten years of 
study devoted to preparation for this very duty ? 

I object to the custom of addressing an audience 
from a manuscript for several reasons. 

In the first place, the tendency of habitually 
using written preparations is to the formation of a 
written instead of a spoken style ; to cultivate a 
habit of writing for the press, instead of uttering 
our thoughts to an audience. We thus form the 
habit of using abstract terms, speaking of the most 
important truths in generalities which men only 
dimly understand, and which no one applies to 
himself. It is not the language of ordinary thought 
or ordinary conversation ; and it is as if we ad- 
dressed them in a foreign tongue, which they only 
imperfectly understand. What the effect of such 
preaching must be, or rather how small must be its 
effect, may easily be imagined. The preacher can 
rarely be deeply interested in it himself; and it 
cannot be expected that he will interest others. 

Every one knows that the power of a speaker 
over an audience depends, almost entirely, on the 



124 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

tones of emotion. This was what the ancient 
orator meant when he said that the first and second 
and third requisite essential to a public speaker 
was delivery. But emotion, though it commence 
in the bosom of the speaker, is sustained and deep- 
ened and rendered more intense by the reciprocal 
action of the speaker and the audience upon each 
other. The earnestness of the speaker, shown in 
the eyes, the gesture, the tones of the voice, arouses 
the audience to sympathy. Their eyes answer to 
his eyes; their breathless attention shows that every 
tone of his voice thrills their bosoms with emotion ; 
their whole expression reacts upon him, and a mu- 
tual sympathy binds them together ; and he feels 
that his heart and theirs are beating in unison. 
Indignation, sarcasm, pity, sorrow, yearning to cre- 
ate in them the same feeling which agitates him, 
expressed more powerfully in the tones of the voice 
than in the words which he utters, sway the audi- 
ence at his will ; and at the close it seems as if they 
all had but one soul, and that the soul of him who 
has addressed them. Such was the preaching of 
Whitfield. Garrick, after hearing him, declared 
that he would give a hundred pounds to be able to 
utter the simple exclamation Oh ! as Whitfield 
uttered it. 

This power of expressing emotion by the tones 
of the voice, we may remark in passing, cannot be 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 125 

acquired by art. It must arise from the earnest, 
honest feeling of the speaker, reflected back from 
the audience before him. A man may rehearse his 
sermon alone ; he may determine how this or that 
passage should be uttered, or what gesture should 
accompany the utterance ; he may do it again and 
again before a mirror ; he may blacken his manu- 
script with every kind of sign that shall indicate the 
expression to be given to the words, but it is all a 
failure. Nature is not so easily deceived. The 
hearers see that it is all very elaborately prepared, 
and very accurately delivered; but somehow or 
other they are not moved, and it all seems like a 
boy speaking a piece. 

To return ; it must, I think, be evident, that the 
tendency of habitual reading is to annihilate the 
true tones of emotion in a speaker. His eyes and 
those of the audience never meet. They look up, 
and all is blank ; for he is looking steadfastly on 
something else. The tendency is for him gradually 
to subside into a quiet reader, delivering plainly, 
and without emotion, what he has prepared with 
care and attention. This, is the more common case. 
If, however, he rises above this, and is of a more 
earnest character, he acquires a regular tone of 
apparent emotion, a rise and fall of the voice at 
regular intervals, in which every sentence is ut- 
tered. The important and the unimportant are 



126 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

both pitched on the same key, and set to the same 
tune. The tones of real emotion have all died out, 
and nothing remains but sentence after sentence, 
whether narrative, hortatory, or emotional, begin- 
ning, continuing, and ending with the same pauses, 
inflections, and emphasis, which no feeling of the 
soul seems really to pervade. To this kind of de- 
livery, I think, reading generally tends, especially 
in young men ; but it is liable to decline, with 
advancing years, into that which I have just re- 
ferred to. 

I do not, of course, deny that we have frequently 
eloquent readers. I rejoice to say that I have lis- 
tened to many myself; though it was frequently 
the eloquence of high intellectual rather than of 
moral excitement. Chalmers was a close reader, 
and never preached without producing great effect. 
His soul was always on fire, and he threw it wholly 
into all he either did or said. It was not in his 
nature to be prosy. Yet a gentleman who was in 
the habit of hearing him has assured me that his 
extempore discourses, delivered to operatives in 
outskirts of Glasgow, were far more effective, and 
more truly eloquent, than the sermons which he 
delivered with so much applause in the Tron 
Church of that city. 

But let us look at this subject from another 
point of view. Where, but in the pulpit, would 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 127 

written addresses to a popular assembly be toler- 
ated? Were a lawyer to read to a jury a finely 
written dissertation, bearing as much on the case 
before them as many of our sermons do on the 
salvation of the soul, would he not soon put the 
whole panel to sleep ? Were the same mode of 
address adopted by senators and representatives, 
would not the member find himself surrounded 
by nothing but empty benches ? And, finally, 
were this mode adopted in general, would not the 
days of Erskine, Brougham, Chatham, and Fox, 
and of Hamilton, Patrick Henry, Webster, Clay, 
and Preston have passed away forever ? 

What then can be the reason why this mode of 
address has become so prevalent throughout a 
large part of our country ? Among the causes may, 
perhaps, be the following : — 

1. A natural fear of failure, or, as it is called, 
" breaking down," when a young man is called to 
address a large assembly ; especially when he has 
never been taught to cultivate the art of public 
speaking. 

2. The ambition to be known as a good writer. 
Those who have spent eight or ten years in prep- 
aration, naturally suppose that the effect of this 
cultivation will be expected. They do not remem- 
ber that the effect of cultivation may be manifested 
with far greater power by extempore than by writ- 



128 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

ten address. The candidate begins to preach from > 
notes, and the habit once formed is fixed for life. 
He thinks he cannot do otherwise, and so long as 
he thinks so the thing is impossible. 

3. Nor is this all. If a man has attained any 
estimation as a fine writer, he is liable to be afraid 
of his own reputation, and he dares not risk it by 
extempore address. Besides, what has once been 
carefully written may be used again, whenever the 
occasion demands it, without the labor of a new 
preparation. In a few years a man may acquire a 
large stock of preaching material, which may be 
repeated from the same pulpit, or be of still greater 
benefit if he should change his place of settlement. 
This feeling is not peculiar to a minister. Every 
one is- looking forward to a life of greater ease, 
and is willing to lessen his burden in the future, 
of what sort soever it may be. 

But, it will probably be asked, would you advise 
a young man who has had no practice in public 
speaking to address a large congregation without 
any written preparation ? I reply, I would not ad- 
vise a young man, who has had little or no prac- 
tice in preaching, to address such a congregation at 
all. A few men have a natural gift for public speak- 
ing, and come forth at once in possession of the most 
important elements required for such a service. The 
most gifted, however, will, I think, be found to be 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 129 

the men who have cultivated their oratorical power 
most earnestly. But take men with the average 
rate of ability for this service, and careful attention 
and abundant practice are necessary to success in 
this mode of labor. With these, facility in the art 
may be acquired by any one who has what the 
apostle demands in a candidate, " aptness to teach." 
Let such a man determine that he will acquire 
facility in public address, and let him resolutely 
apply himself to the means needful to secure suc- 
cess, and he will undoubtedly succeed. If, how- 
ever, he only adopts this method occasionally, and 
when he has not been able to write, and must say 
something, and commence with the remark that 
he is only going to talk to the people, he will, of 
course, fail ; and very likely conclude that the gift 
of speaking, without writing, was never conferred 
upon him. 

But suppose a young man has paid attention to 
public speaking, I would by no means advise him 
to seek for a first settlement in a large congrega- 
tion, or in a populous city, but rather to avoid them. 
Let him choose a less prominent place, where, ex- 
posed to fewer temptations, he may labor in the 
Master's service, and confirm those habits of heart 
and mind, and acquire that skill in the performance 
of the duties of the ministry, which may prepare 
him for more extended usefulness. It is unwise to 
9 



130 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

place a young and wholly inexperienced minister 
in a situation sufficiently arduous to task the skill 
and energy and talent of a man in the full matu- 
rity of his strength. A young man placed in such 
a situation, if he be conscientious and feels the 
responsibility placed upon him, will probably labor 
beyond his strength, and come to a premature 
grave. If he treat his responsibility lightly, he 
will perform the work of an ambassador profession- 
ally, and, ere long, come to an ignominious failure. 
Let not a young man suppose that, by taking 
charge of a small church, his talent will be buried 
and his sphere of usefulness limited. If he does 
his duty, that church will not continue small. Men 
of tried piety, good sense, and ministerial qualifi- 
cations, are ever in demand ; and he will soon have 
the opportunity of selecting his situation. It is, 
however, far from certain that his selection, if he 
act wisely, will be any other place than that in 
which the great Shepherd has first fixed his lot. 
A settlement in a city is by no means to be cov- 
eted. It was well said by the prophet : " Seekest 
thou great things for thyself? seek them not." A 
great city is the chosen place for the throne of the 
prince of this world, where he reigns with almost 
uncontrolled dominion. There the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, find 
everything to stimulate their growth and provide 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 131 

for their gratification. Some men must occupy 
such places ; but they are to be accepted, if ac- 
cepted at all, as a duty which cannot be escaped, 
rather than a distinction that is to be coveted. If 
it be said that Timothy was a minister of the 
church at Ephesus while a young man, let it be 
remembered that the epistles to him at Ephesus 
were written at the close of the apostle's life, when 
Timothy could have been no longer young ; and, 
also, that he served for many years as an assistant 
to the apostle, before he was intrusted with the 
care of an important church. 

I cannot conclude these remarks without making 
a suggestion to those who have the management 
of our theological seminaries. I make them in no 
spirit of unkindness. If I know my own heart, I 
have no other motive than a desire to promote the 
progress of the Redeemer's kingdom. 

I believe that the conviction is rapidly increasing 
among thoughtful men that the influence of the 
pulpit is decreasing. By this I do not mean that 
ministers are not treated well, so far as this world 
is concerned, but that their preaching is producing 
less and less influence over the public mind, and 
that the message of salvation is heard with less 
and less concern. To this fact some of our most 
judicious ministers have borne testimony. Since I 
commenced writing these pages, I happened to 



132 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

fall into conversation on this subject with a friend 
who has arrived at high distinction as a lawyer and 
a legislator. I inquired of him, what was the 
opinion of gentlemen of his profession on the sub- 
ject of the Christian religion, when they conversed 
freely with each other in their professional meet- 
ings. He replied : " They think religion a very 
useful thing for promoting the good order of soci- 
ety and reducing the number of policemen, and 
they are willing to contribute to its support ; but 
that is all. As to its necessity for the salvation of 
the soul, — or, in fact, as to its importance for any- 
thing else than the present life, — they have no be- 
lief at all." This was, I know, a candid testimony ; 
and such is coming to be the opinion of a large 
class of our most respectable citizens. Our ar- 
rangements for the worship of God are becoming 
so expensive that the greater portion of the mid- 
dling classes, and nearly all the poor, are excluded 
from our sanctuaries. Under such circumstances, 
must not the spiritual power of the Christian re- 
ligion be on the decrease among us ? This condi- 
tion of things is not limited to our country. The 
complaint of the inefficiency of the ministry is loud 
in Great Britain. 1 



1 A writer in Blackwood's Magazine for August boldly declares 
that sermons have become a hindrance to devotion, and demands 
that they be dispensed with altogether, and the service on the 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 133 

And while this is the case, we are living at this 
time under the full influence of an educated minis- 
try. Every denomination has its seminaries in 
abundance, supported at great expense. It has 
been estimated that when the cost of buildings, 
libraries, salaries, and gratuities of every kind are 
included, the theological education of a young- 
man costs his denomination from five hundred to 
one thousand dollars. The professors are learned, 
able, and pious men. How is it, then, that, with 
all these means of cultivating our ministry, its 
power over the people is decreasing ? Must there 
not be something requiring change in our manner 
of theological education ? 

In the first place, I would observe, that our sys- 
tem of theological education is unlike that of any 
other intended to prepare men for the active du- 
ties of life. In a law school, every opportunity is 
given by practice in moot courts, for acquiring 
facility in the management of cases ; and, besides 
this, every young lawyer enters an office, and is 
employed in making out legal papers, attending 
courts, looking up decisions, and doing everything 
that the law will allow, for the purpose of acquiring 

Sabbath confined to reading the Scriptures and the prayers. See, 
also, in the Atlantic Monthly for March, 1860, the article entitled " Is 
the religious want of the age met?" and the article on "Church- 
going" in the New Englander for July, 1862. 



134 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

practical skill in his profession. The medical stu- 
dent, for a few months in the year, attends lectures ; 
but he at the same time visits the hospitals to ob- 
serve the modes of treatment, and spends the 
remainder of the year in the office of a regular 
physician, observing his practice, visiting patients 
with him, and, whenever it can be done, taking 
charge of patients himself, that he may become 
acquainted with the every-day duties of his calling. 
In Normal schools, the pupil attends lectures on 
the subjects of instruction ; but he is called upon 
daily to put these lectures into practice, and he is 
required to teach continually, and thus become 
prepared to teach for himself. On the contrary, 
our theological students are collected together in 
large dormitories, where they associate with no 
others than themselves, and, for three years, read 
books and attend lectures and recitations, being, 
in many cases, even discouraged from preaching, 
unless at the close of their course. Their views 
of the ministry are formed not from the observa- 
tion and experience of actual life, but from the 
conversations of young men with each other. 
They of necessity enter the ministry with no prac- 
tical knowledge of its duties; and that they should 
be ignorant of the best methods of presenting the 
truth to living men, is only a thing to be expected. 
Were men in other departments of life to pursue 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 135 

a similar course, must it not lead to inevitable 
failure ? 

In the next place, the business of a minister is 
to address men in public on the most momentous 
of all subjects. Is it not desirable, then, that he 
should learn to address assemblies with the great- 
est possible effect? Ought he not to be a public 
speaker rather than a public reader? I do not, of 
course, mean to advise that men should be taught 
to speak when they have nothing to say. When 
I use the word extempore, I do not suppose that a 
man is to address an audience of intelligent people 
without any preparation ; or, as some of our older 
ministers used to boast, that they did not know 
w T hat text they would take until they entered the 
pulpit. I would have young men taught not 
merely the force of the Greek article, the meaning 
of the aorist, and the difference between the par- 
ticles : I would have them familiar with the very 
ideas and spirit of the word of God, thoroughly 
imbued with the great doctrines of the gospel, as 
they are revealed by Christ and his apostles, and 
not as they are announced in systems of theology. 
I would have them taught, by habitual practice, 
how to frame a sermon, or how to think out a train 
of thought. I would have them taught to deliver 
this without writing, in addresses in the conference 
room, and in small auditories, under the eye of an 



136 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

instructor, who should, in private, remark their 
defects in matter and in manner, and thus learn 
not only to address men in public, but to do it well. 
If this method were adopted, can there be any 
reason why our young evangelists should not come 
from the schools able to instruct and persuade oth- 
ers with the same power that men possess who 
address them on other subjects? In other words, 
I would entreat the officers and guardians of our 
seminaries to give up the ambition of becoming 
literary centres, and schools of philological and 
other learning, and confine themselves to the sim- 
ple object of making men able and useful ministers 
of the New Testament. 

But, after all, what are we discussing but means 
and modes of operation ? I confess that these all 
might be put into practice, while we should become 
but little the better. I believe, however, that the 
changes which I suggest are of importance mainly 
as they tend to cultivate a deeper tone of piety, 
and greater earnestness in the work in which we are 
engaged. This is what we need above everything 
else, no matter in what way it can be attained. 
We need more prayer, more reading of the Scrip- 
tures for our own spiritual improvement, as well as 
for public preparation ; we need a more exclusive 
and entire consecration to our work ; we need a 
victory over the world which shall trample under 



MANNER OF PREACHING. 137 

foot its applause, its wealth, its honors and distinc- 
tions, and be willing to become great by becoming 
little in the sight of men. The first thing for a 
minister of the gospel to attain is conquest over 
himself; to be perfectly willing for men to say of 
him what they please ; to bear the contradiction 
of saints and of sinners, if only he can, by preach- 
ing the simple truths of the gospel, be the means 
of converting men to Christ, and saving souls from 
eternal despair. When he has broken these fetters, 
and thus becomes a freeman in Christ Jesus, he 
can enter upon his work with a power of faith, 
with might in the inner man, which those who 
consent to bow down to the world, and do merely 
what those around them are doing, can neither 
attain to nor understand. 

I am, yours, truly. 



LETTER VII. 



PASTORAL VISITATION, 



My Dear Brother: 

T HAVE already considered the duty of a minis- 
-*- ter as a preacher of the gospel. The Apostle 
Paul, during his ministry at Ephesus, labored, as 
he tells us, not only publicly, but "from house to 
house, testifying repentance toward God and faith 
in our Lord Jesus Christ." In this letter I propose 
to treat of pastoral visitation. 

I fear that the discharge of this part of ministerial 
duty is growing into some disuse among us. The 
opinion is becoming more and more prevalent, 
that it is not a part of our professional duty, or 
one which we are under obligation to perform. I 
have known a minister encourage a younger 
brother by informing him that he himself never 
visited his people, and that his people did not now 
expect it; he did not, however, add, what 1 believe 
was the fact, that his ministry had been very un- 
fruitful. I have heard of meetings of ministers 
where this subject was discussed, and, by common 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 139 

consent, it was considered a drudgery — a thing 
which must be done to some extent, but which 
they did as little as possible. 

There are, however, ministers who look upon 
this subject differently. They give themselves 
earnestly to the work of pastoral visitation, and 
the result has not been hidden. I could mention 
brethren, whose names are rarely heralded in pub- 
lic places, who make no demonstrations at public 
meetings, to whose churches the Lord adds every 
month of those who shall be saved, while the 
churches around them, from year to year, hardly 
maintain their original number. When it is asked, 
How is it that this brother is so successful in the 
conversion of souls, and in building up Christians 
in the faith of the gospel? the answer is somewhat 
in this wise : He is not a great jDreacher, he is not 
an elegant writer, he dazzles his people with no 
remarkable intellectual efforts; but he is a truly 
devout and humble man ; he gives himself wholly 
to his work, he preaches the gospel in honest, 
affectionate simplicity, and he spends a large part 
of his time in visiting his people. 

If we attend ordinations, it is not uncommon to 
hear this subject alluded to, both in the charge to 
the minister and in that to the people. The can- 
didate is faithfully warned not to be broken off 
from his studies for the sake of going from house 



1 40 MINISTR Y OF TEE G OSPEL. 

to house, and the people are told that they must 
not expect it of him. If he does not visit them, 
they must take it for granted that he is on his 
knees, studying the word of God, and holding 
communion with his Saviour on their behalf. He 
is so much engaged in this holy work that they 
must not disturb him even by calling upon him. 
I have heard it triumphantly asked, How can they 
expect their minister to compose sermons like 
Massillon's, if he do not consume his whole time 
in solitary study ? All this is as solemnly said, by 
grave and reverend divines, as if there were really 
any danger that the candidate would ever preach 
like Massillon, and as if the people would not 
know whether their minister had time enough for 
general reading and social visiting, though he had 
none to employ in testifying from house to house 
repentance towards God and faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

Here, then, is certainly an anomalous case. Here 
is a man who has been moved by the Holy Ghost 
to assume the work of converting sinners and cul- 
tivating the piety of saints. But this, the most 
effective part of his work, he declines to perform, 
and considers unworthy of his professional posi- 
tion. Perishing souls need to be instructed in the 
way of salvation in private, and many of them 
actually desire it ; and yet he refuses to perform 



PAS TOE AL VISITATION. 141 

this most important part of his duty. Must not 
this arise from a very imperfect conception of his 
office as an ambassador of Christ ? 

Of the practical importance of this form of min- 
isterial labor, I need not form an argument. Let 
every one ascertain the truth from his own obser- 
vation and experience. So far as I have known 
the events that have led to conversion, I have 
observed, specially of late, that a much larger 
number has been led to reflection by private con- 
versation than by public ministrations. I hope it 
will not be considered inappropriate if I refer to 
my own experience on this subject. I have always 
been accustomed to attend the ministry of the 
gospel, and, in my early youth, the preaching, 
though excellent, was, as I remember, above my 
comprehension. My parents, now with God, never 
attended church in the evening, but assembled 
their children around them to read the Scriptures, 
repeat hymns, and hold conversation on the sub- 
ject of personal religion. I know perfectly well 
that these services at home made a much deeper 
impression on my mind than the public services of 
the sanctuary. 

When I was a student in college, I continued to 
be a regular attendant on the ministry. At this 
moment I cannot recall a single sermon that I 
heard during this period. I well remember, how- 



142 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

ever, that a class-mate, 1 a pious and consistent 
Christian, once called me into his room, and faith- 
fully and affectionately conversed with me on 
the subject of my soul's salvation. To this day I 
can never think of this act of Christian love with- 
out thankfulness to God and to his servant who 
thus warned me of my danger. I have never seen 
him since we parted on commencement-day, but I 
remember him with a warmth of gratitude which 
I feel for no other of my college friends. 

After leaving college, I entered upon the study 
of medicine. I was sitting alone one day, in the 
office of the physician with whom I studied, when 
a plain man, evidently from the country, entered, 
to procure some medical advice. After we had 
sat some time in silence or in conversation upon 
indifferent subjects, without any introduction, he 
turned to me and asked, " What is the difference 
between hope and expectation ? " I was taken by 
surprise, and gave him such an answer as occurred 
to me, — I presume a very imperfect one. He then 
answered the question himself. "We may hope 
for a thing," said he, " when we have no definite 
ground on which our hope rests, and while we are 
making no effort to secure it ; as we hope for fair 
weather, or for rain. When we expect a thing, we 

1 The Rev. William R. Bogardus, a minister of the Dutch Re- 
formed Church; now, I believe, in the State of New Jersey. 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 143 

at least believe that we have some solid ground 
on which our expectation rests, and we of course 
make every effort necessary to secure it." He 
then added, "I suppose every man hopes to be 
saved at last, whatever may be his life, or how 
much he may neglect the great salvation. A man, 
however, never expects to enter heaven unless he 
has some solid reason on which his expectation 
rests, and he endeavors to live in such a manner 
that his expectation may be realized." He then 
made a brief application of the subject to me per- 
sonally, and shortly afterwards left the office. The 
interview lasted perhaps half an hour. I have 
never seen that man since. I never knew even 
his name, but I never think of him without grati- 
tude and love. If ever I shall be so happy as to 
enter the gates of the New Jerusalem, I know 
that I shall meet him there, and shall thank him 
in better language than I can now command, for 
his Christian care for the soul of a thoughtless 
stranger. I was then, as I have always been, in 
the habit of attending the preaching of the gospel ; 
but I can remember no sermon that ever left on 
my mind so deep an impression as this half hour's 
conversation. I presume that many persons who 
may read these lines may have had similar expe- 
riences. I say many ; I wish I could say all. It 
has been too often my unfortunate experience in 



1 44 MINIS TR Y OF THE G OSPEL. 

addressing persons on the subject of personal 
religion, to be assured that I was the first person 
who had ever called their attention to the impor- 
tance of seeking the salvation of their souls, 
though many of them had spent their lives in the 
midst of the professed disciples of Christ. 

It is, however, proper that I should explain 
what I mean by pastoral visitation. I do not 
mean the calling, at stated times, on the members 
of a congregation, after the manner of what is 
called good society, to discuss the temperature of 
the weather, to ascertain the number of children, 
to allude to the passing topics of the day, and 
make one's self generally agreeable. This, indeed, is 
not without its benefits. It establishes an acquaint- 
ance between a pastor and his people, where 
otherwise they might be almost strangers to each 
other. Such an acquaintance has considerable 
influence, as it is said, in keeping a society to- 
gether. It has some effect in inducing attend- 
ance on the worship of the Sabbath, and gives 
additional interest to what a minister may say in 
the pulpit. It has, however, its disadvantages. It 
leads to too many invitations to dinner and to 
evening company, which, from the relations of the 
parties, it maybe difficult to refuse. Such engage- 
ments may often occur on the very evening of a 
religious meeting, and a minister may be tempted 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 145 

to hurry over his service, or, at any rate, is liable 
to pass from the solemn worship of God to a scene 
of engrossing worldliness. People are of course 
led to inquire, If the minister is in earnest in the 
first part of the evening, what pleasure can he 
take in the second, or how can he urge upon his 
hearers victory over the world, and then unite at 
once in all the levity and frivolity of a fashionable 
party ? 

The visiting to which I refer is a very different 
thing. In urging the duty of pastoral visitation, 
I would suggest that a minister should devote a 
large portion of his time to the duty of private 
conversation, with every member of his congrega- 
tion, on the subject of personal religion. In visit- 
ing a family for this purpose, I suppose he should 
endeavor to converse with every individual sepa- 
rately; or, if this be not possible, that he should set 
before them all the duty of repentance and faith 
in Christ, and, if there be no special obstacle, 
that he should close the interview with prayer. 
Of course there should be in this nothing sth% 
formal, severe, or forbidding. The minister is 
doing nothing but what his relation to his hearers 
absolutely requires. They have chosen him to take 
the care of their souls, and use every means in his 
power to save them from eternal death. They 
believe in the truths which he preaches, or they 
10 



146 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

would not have chosen him to be their minister. 
If his labors on the Sabbath have been ineffectual, 
it is certainly reasonable that he should see them 
in private, and press upon them individually the 
truths which they have thus far neglected. 

Not only the impenitent, but the believer in 
Christ frequently needs such personal conversation. 
How many a child of God, forgotten by the world, 
bereaved by death of all she held dearest on earth, 
is pining away in sorrow, depressed and almost 
broken-hearted, with scarcely a friend from whom 
she can expect Christian consolation. How cheer- 
ful to such a one is the visit of the minister of 
Christ, who will sympathize in her afflictions, and 
point her to the only sourca of true consolation ; 
who will speak to her of the Redeemer who bore 
the heavy burden of her sins, of the rest that re- 
maineth for the people of God, and of the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness which affliction bears, 
on soil that has been watered by the deeds of faith 
and submission and love ! Or there may be Chris- 
tians who are under peculiar temptations to world- 
liness, to avarice, sensuality, or ambition, who are 
in great danger of losing the vitality of religion. 
How seasonable, at such a time, is a visit from a 
minister of Christ, who comes to warn them of 
their danger, to strengthen their faith, to quicken 
their holy resolution, and unite with them in prayer 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 147 

to Him that is able to save, even to the uttermost ! 
Young Christians frequently stand in great need 
of personal conversation. They desire to do their 
duty, but are often in doubt as to the meaning or 
the extent of our Lord's commands. They are 
imperfectly acquainted with the true evidences of 
discipleship ; and their comfort and growth in grace 
can only be promoted by more accurate knowledge 
on this subject. Difficulties beset them which they 
never anticipated, and they need to be taught how 
these difficulties may be overcome. What person 
can so appropriately aid a young Christian, in all 
his moral exigencies, as the minister of Christ, 
who, in the hands of God, was the means of his 
conversion ? 

When I speak of visiting a family, let it not be 
supposed that this is the only way in which per- 
sonal conversation on the subject of religion can 
be carried on. Men who, during the day, are 
rarely at home, can be frequently found at leisure 
in their places of business. In the counting-room, 
the office, or the shop, we may frequently, without 
difficulty, call them aside for a few minutes to urge 
them to attend to the great salvation. We need 
not detain them long ; to do so might seem imper- 
tinent and intrusive, imputations which we should 
by all means avoid. A few earnest and loving 
words, evidently proceeding from the heart, have 



148 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

thus frequently entered the soul of one who has 
heard the gospel for a lifetime unmoved. Or we 
may overtake men in the street, and, while walking 
with them for a few minutes, with kindness and 
solemnity deliver to them the message of the 
loving Saviour. Or in company we may frequently 
find an opportunity to hold conversation with a 
thoughtless youth, that, by the blessing of God, 
may end in his conversion. Let a minister be 
really in earnest in his work, determined to allow 
no opportunity to pass unimproved, and he will be 
surprised to find how often occasions present them- 
selves when he can, without intrusiveness, converse 
with men on the subject of the great salvation. 

We need not fear that men will not allow us 
thus to treat them, but will rudely repulse the 
minister who is thus seeking their good. It is 
hardly in man to treat unkindly any one, especially 
his own chosen minister, who, with disinterested 
love, is urging him to prepare for death and eter- 
nity. On this subject, I may, perhaps, be permit- 
ted to speak from a limited experience. I have 
been in the habit of private conversation with 
individuals on the subject of religion ever since I 
became a minister of Christ. I have conversed 
with the thoughtless, the frivolous, with men of 
wealth, with the ambitious, and the profane, but I 
do not recall the instance in which their subsequent 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 149 

conduct ever discovered that they esteemed me 
the less for all that I had said. I may, moreover, 
add, that I do not believe that I have any particu- 
lar facility for this kind of service, and there is no 
duty upon the discharge of which I enter with 
so painful a conviction of my own insufficiency. 
What I have done, I am sure any one of my 
brethren may do also. 

The advantages pertaining to the kind of visit- 
ing which I here recommend, are, in my opinion, 
manifest. To take the lowest view of the case, it 
is the most effectual means for keeping a society 
united. I have said that there are advantages to 
be derived from simple official visiting, by which 
the minister cultivates the social acquaintance of 
his people. It is evident that the more this ac- 
quaintance is cultivated, the more unwilling will a 
people be to leave their minister for another. But 
if this effect is produced by merely personal ac- 
quaintance, how much stronger must be the bond 
which unites a people to him whose whole conduct 
exhibits a disinterested love for their souls, and 
whose habit it is, whenever an opportunity offers, 
to turn their thoughts from the things which they 
know to be vanity, to the things which make for 
their everlasting peace. This is the minister whom 
they desire to see in the hour of sickness, and on 
the bed of death. When he visits them on such 



150 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

occasions, he has an advantage over every other 
man ; for the themes on which he must then dis- 
course are those to which he has often called their 
attention. The affection and reverence in which 
such a minister of Christ is held, binds every 
family to him by an indissoluble tie. They may 
not heed his exhortations, but their consciences 
bear witness that he has done his duty faithfully, 
and in love, and that if they are lost, the responsi- 
bility will not rest upon him. Knowing him to be 
a true friend, they will be the more ready to come 
to him in their various trials and perplexities, and 
thus there will arise unnumbered opportunities of 
diffusing among his people the spirit of Christian 
benignity, and of leading them in the path of 
Christian uprightness. Such is the unbounded 
influence of disinterested love. When men need 
a counsellor, to whom will they as readily apply 
as to one whom they believe will be moved by no 
selfish designs, but who, in simplicity of heart, will 
advise them to that course which he believes to be 
for their good ? To a right-minded man, what situ- 
ation on earth can compare with such a ministra- 
tion as this ? And let me add, this conception has 
frequently been realized. Let any one read the 
life of Legh Richmond, and he will see all this ex- 
emplified. While he was very successful in con- 
verting souls to Christ, and the unflinching rebuker 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 151 

of wrong, the whole parish loved him as a father, 
and were guided by his suggestions almost as 
though he were an angel from heaven. 

Besides, if a minister is known to the families 
of his congregation as specially their religious 
friend, whose life-work it is to turn them from the 
vanities of this world to the glories of another, 
they will not expect his presence in those assem- 
blies where fashionable gayety reigns paramount, 
and everything tends to forgetfulness of God, of 
judgment, and eternity. They would feel instinct- 
ively that the presence of a heavenly-minded man 
would be out of harmony with such an occasion. 
They would rarely ask him to such scenes of 
amusement, and if he were asked they would de- 
cidedly choose that he should decline, as decline 
he certainly would. Thus, while the kind of visit- 
ing which I recommend is of great advantage to 
the temporal and eternal interests of a congrega- 
tion, it delivers the pastor from temptations which, 
in many cases, have been fatal to ministerial use- 
fulness. 

The proper discharge of this duty will be of 
great service to the minister himself. When a 
man habitually embraces every suitable opportu- 
nity for conversation with his people on the subject 
of religion, he will be in no want of subjects for 
preaching, especially if he be a devout student of 



152 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

the Scriptures. The trembling anxiety of a con- 
victed sinner; the objections to the doctrines of the 
cross in one who has just begun to consider reli- 
gion as a matter of personal importance ; the trans- 
porting joy of the returning penitent; the tendency 
to relapse into indifference from the pressure of 
worldly associations ; the earnest strivings of the 
renewed soul after holiness ; the steadfast faith of 
the assured Christian w T hen in the furnace of afflic- 
tion, and the triumph of the departing saint who 
is leaving this w T orld in the glorious hope of im- 
mortality, — these, and a multitude of such experi- 
ences, will crowd upon the mind of the minister, 
and suggest appropriate texts for the sermons of 
the ensuing Sabbath. Nor is this all. As a minis- 
ter rises to address his people, with a large number 
of whom he has lately held conversation on the sub- 
ject of religion, he is under no temptation to speak 
to them in general terms, which not one in ten 
will understand ; but he almost of course speaks 
to their personal and particular wants; and in doing 
this he will meet the wants of nearly every individ- 
ual of his audience. If a man, then, would preach 
directly and effectively to his people, let him be- 
come familiar with their religious condition. If he 
is in want of subjects, let him lay aside his books, 
and go out and hold communion with men on 
eternal things. The great reason why it is so hard 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 153 

to preach is that the minister spends too much of 
his time in unprofitable reading and conversation, 
and when the time arrives for preparation for the 
pulpit, the current of his associations runs in an 
entirely different direction ; so that it would be 
much easier to write a lecture on the books which 
he has been reading, than to urge men, for Christ's 
sake, to be reconciled to God. 

]N"or is the effect upon the audience in such a 
case to be omitted. As the minister looks upon 
his hearers with the consciousness that he has be- 
fore him friends with whose moral condition he is 
familiar, so they feel that they are looking upon a 
man with whom they are in full sympathy. He is 
speaking to them on subjects which have been 
already matters of free conversation between them. 
His language, his illustrations, the tones of his 
voice, are those to which they have become ac- 
customed. The children look upon him as a well- 
known friend. They can understand him, for he 
has talked to them on those subjects familiarly 
at home. Thus is it that an audience is formed 
that has no parallel in interest. Hearts are open to 
receive instruction, — the instruction of one whom 
they venerate and love. What richer field of labor 
can be desired by one who is in reality, as well as 
in name, an ambassador of Christ ? Is it not worth 
the effort to strive to render all our congregations 
such audiences as this? 



154 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

Again, we hear, quite frequently, sermons about 
dead churches, lifeless churches ; and they are ex- 
horted to become working, active churches. But 
is not an active, working church one in which 
every member feels his responsibility to labor per- 
sonally for the conversion of souls, and for the 
advancement of the cause of Christ? Is not a 
torpid or dead church one in which the individual 
members, Gallio-like, care for none of these things; 
who suffer year after year to pass away without 
ever speaking even to an intimate acquaintance of 
his danger ; nay, who, so far as they know, have 
never been the means of the conversion of a single 
soul ? It is of churches of this latter character that 
ministers complain ; and they tell us that they can 
do nothing, because their people do not labor for 
Christ. 

But let me ask, in all simplicity, how can a min- 
ister expect others to do what he will not do him- 
self? When he fails in his duty, his people will 
naturally fail also. When a minister is silent on 
the great salvation everywhere but in the pulpit, 
his people, having no pulpit, will be silent every- 
where. Hence, the members of the church are 
what we, in our sermons, call dead, — men whose 
lights, if they have any, are placed under a bushel; 
whose salt, if it be indeed salt, is utterly without 
savor. Brethren, let us look this matter in the 



PASTORAL VISITATION. 155 

face. I know it is sometimes asserted that our 
duty is discharged when we have unfolded to men 
their duty ; that we, like the Pharisees of old, are 
appointed to lay burdens on the shoulders of 
others which we are not to lift with one of our 
fingers. Such is not the teaching of common-sense, 
nor, above all, of Christ and his apostles. If we 
do not obey our own teaching, no one else will 
obey it. If we are not examples to the flock, our 
teaching will go for nothing. All men will say, if 
you believed this to be so important a duty, you 
would do it yourselves ; but if you neglect it, your 
preaching is only a professional duty, and if your 
duty is discharged by preaching, ours is discharged 
by hearing, and thus the account is settled be- 
tween us. 

But it will be said that ministers have no time 
for all this. If they insist on writing all they utter 
it may be more difficult, but this writing is a self- 
imposed labor. But, taking this into consideration, 
is it so overwhelming a labor to write two dis- 
courses, of half an hour each, in the course of a 
week ? I confess I am ashamed to hear men who 
have enjoyed eight or ten years of mental cultiva- 
tion complain of this, as a labor too great for the 
human faculties. I have said that to a man who 
writes his discourses, this visiting may be more 
difficult ; but this is by no means certain. A mind 



156 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

filled with the subject on which it acts, thinks rap- 
idly. A man in active sympathy with his people 
will have little need of writing; he will, after a little 
practice, prefer to lay his notes aside, and speak to 
them directly. Or, if he choose to write, it will be 
from the outgushing of his heart, and he will not 
be obliged to pause every few minutes, pen in hand, 
gazing on vacancy, as if that would tell him what 
to write next. 

If, at last, it be said that all this is beneath the 
dignity of our profession, and that we cannot ex- 
pect an educated man to spend his time in visiting 
mechanics in their shops and in sitting down with 
women engaged in their domestic labor to con- 
verse with them on the subject of religion, to this 
objection I have no reply to offer. Let the ob- 
jector present his case, in its full force, to him who, 
on his journey to Galilee, " sat thus on the well," 
and held a memorable conversation with a woman 
of Samaria. 

I am, yours, truly. 



LETTER VIII. 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 



My Dear Brother: 

TN the preceding letters I have treated of the 
-*- duties of a minister of Christ somewhat in 
general. But a minister, in the natural course of 
events, becomes a pastor. Those which come upon 
him specially in this relation are of great impor- 
tance. To these let us now direct our attention. 

The general duty of a minister is to preach pub- 
licly, and from house to house. Here he acts as a 
herald, an announcer of the good news which the 
Saviour has sent him forth to publish. But when 
he undertakes the charge of a particular company 
of believers, he is styled an elder, an overseer, a 
pastor, an under shepherd, — all which terms evi- 
dently suggest duties in many respects unlike 
those to which we have thus far referred. Some 
of these let us now consider. 

We learn from the New Testament that when- 
ever sinners were converted in any place, they 
were collected together and organized into a com- 



158 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

pany which is called a church. This organization 
is formed for one single and specific purpose, to 
extend the kingdom of Christ ; and this it accom- 
plishes, first by the conversion of sinners, and sec- 
ondly by the improvement of saints in holiness. I 
much fear that this object, for which alone a church 
exists, is strangely forgotten. A chemical society 
is formed for the purpose of increasing or extend- 
ing the knowledge of chemistry, and the records 
of its meetings show what they have done, what 
laws they have investigated, what discoveries they 
have made, and what experiments they have car- 
ried on. That they have given money to others 
to promote chemical investigation, is not enough ; 
they must, in order to deserve their name, have 
done something, both individually and collectively, 
to advance the object of their organization, and 
what they have done will appear on their record. 
How does a church-record show, from month to 
month, what the individual members, or the church 
collectively, has been doing for Christ? The 
church commonly meets once a month to hear 
what missionaries are doing to advance the king- 
dom of the Redeemer; they are pleased to hear of 
conversions of sinners, the establishment of out- 
stations, or new churches, ten thousand miles off; 
but where is the church that meets statedly to de- 
vise new measures for the promotion of religion at 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 159 

home, to inquire where can we open a new Sabbath 
school, or supply with the preaching of the gospel 
another out-station, or to hear a report of the good 
that has been accomplished by our labors in these 
directions ; what has been done to save the perish- 
ing all around us ; what measure have we taken to 
bring the thoughtless ones under the influences of 
the gospel, to check the progress of vice, or build 
each other up in the most holy faith ? Do the rec- 
ords of the doings of our churches contain any 
such entries as these ? Where is the pastor who, 
at every church meeting, relates to his brethren 
what he is doing to promote the increase of true 
religion, what is his success, what are the obstacles 
in his way, and who calls upon his brethren to aid 
him in the promotion of that work in which they 
all profess to be united ? Where is the church at 
the stated meetings of which the elder brethren 
are heard pointing out to the more recent converts 
the temptations that are most liable to beset them, 
and the way in which they may best be overcome, 
or exhorting each other to beware of the snares of 
the world, or holding up the crown of eternal life 
which is in reserve for every one that overcometh ? 
It would seem the most natural thing possible for 
such doings as these to be recorded in the proceed- 
ings of a society having for its sole object the exten- 
sion and perfecting of religion in the souls of men* 



160 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

Such I suppose to be the normal condition of a 
Christian church. Can anything less than this 
save them from the charge of saying what they do 
not believe, or professing what they do not prac- 
tise ? But I suppose that the duty of stimulating 
a church to such labor, and of organizing it in 
such manner as to give it the greatest efficiency, 
and directing it to proper spheres of action, must 
devolve on the shepherd, the pastor, the overseer, 
the leader of the people. What is everybody's 
business is nobody's business, and nothing is done. 
The pastor has given his life to this work, and, that 
he may do it, is relieved from secular care. It is 
not enough that he admonish his brethren in gen- 
eral terms, and urge them over and over again to 
be up and doing, as a living and working church. 
They will hear all this, and every one wait for the 
church to go forward ; no one will feel any indi- 
vidual obligation to do anything, because he is not 
the church. I think a pastor who wishes to see 
his church enlarging itself, and gaining victory 
over the world and subduing men around it to 
Christ, must go farther than this. The duty of 
every Christian to labor for the conversion of souls 
as the only condition of enjoying healthy piety, 
if not of possessing piety at all, must be pressed 
with all simplicity and earnestness, and the lesson 
brought home to every man's conscience. Let the 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 161 

minister, then, look out suitable places in which, 
two by two, his brethren may labor among the 
destitute. Let him, as a gospel overseer, put forth 
the persons best adapted to the work. If it can 
be but begun, it will increase. When men see 
others engaged in such a work, they naturally ask, 
Why should I not do so myself? and thus the 
common excuse for doing nothing is taken away. 
Such, according to the Apostle Paul, was the 
church at Thessalonica. "Ye were," said he, 
"examples to all that believe in Macedonia and 
Achaia; for from you sounded out the word of the 
Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in 
every place your faith toward God is spread 
abroad;" — that is, by their direct efforts the word 
of God was sent into Macedonia and Achaia; but 
their example also was the means of widely en- 
couraging others to follow in their footsteps. This 
is, I suppose, the New Testament idea of a church. 
Nor are such examples confined wholly to the 
pages of the New Testament. A remarkable 
instance of the results of such labor has occurred 
in our own day. About thirty years since, the 
Baptist church in Hamburg was constituted, having 
for its pastor the Rev. J. G. Oncken. At its organ- 
ization it contained but seven members. Carrying 
into practice the New Testament idea of a church 
of Christ, these seven members have increased 
11 



162 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

more than a thousand fold, and have proclaimed 
the gospel extensively in Prussia, have passed into 
Denmark and Sweden, and in their onward pro- 
gress have crossed the borders of the Russian 
Empire. Let a church, on the contrary, have 
nothing to rely on but its antiquity, its wealth, its 
conservatism, the piety of its founders, its polar 
distance from all excitement and irregularity, and 
the social position of the members of its society, 
and, although it may have a very respectable 
standing with the world, it is recorded in the book 
that shall one day be opened, A church " having a 
name that it liveth, and is dead." 

Again, discipline is a most important part of 
the duty of a church of Christ. It was so in 
primitive times, and required the continual watch- 
fulness of the Apostle of the Gentiles. The reason 
of this is evMent. We admit members to the 
church who give credible evidence that they 
have been renewed by the grace of God. The, 
evidence of this is two-fold. In the first place, 
there is a change of their views and feelings on 
the subject of religion. This must be made known 
to us by the persons themselves, for it is something 
that has transpired within the region of their own 
consciousness. The second evidence is the effect of 
this change upon their life and conversation. This 
latter can only be discovered after a suitable time 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 163 

of trial. In this we are all liable to error. We 
frequently do not allow sufficient time for this 
change to manifest itself. We are so much re- 
joiced to witness conversions, that we can hardly 
wait long enough to discriminate between the 
true and the false, the tares and the wheat. It 
may be an amiable weakness to receive members 
into the Christian church without sufficient evi- 
dence of renewal of heart ; but it is still a weak- 
ness, and its results are frequently alarming. In 
an excited state of public feeling, emotions are 
rapidly transmitted from one to another; and, with- 
out any intention to deceive, a change from deep 
sorrow to exultant joy is liable to be mistaken for 
a change from sin to holiness. I do not believe 
that cases of intentional hypocrisy are numerous, 
though the fact that, in most cases, a man gains 
something in position by connecting himself with 
a religious body, gives rise to a temptation in this 
direction. Owing, however, to the allurements of 
the present life, many of whom we once hoped 
well, while maintaining the form of religion, turn 
back into the world. The love of God in a human 
soul can hardly maintain its existence except by 
progress; and progress in piety demands a sus- 
tained moral effort. If this effort relaxes, the evil 
dispositions of the heart at once revive, and the 
man by his conduct can hardly be distinguished 



1C4 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

from those who know not God. Thus, in the par- 
able of the ten virgins, five are represented as wise 
and five as foolish. The Apostles Paul and John 
make frequent mention of those whom they once 
esteemed to be disciples, but who had apostatized 
from the faith. 

Now, it is manifest that the moral power of 
a Christian church depends upon the character 
which its members exhibit to the world around 
them. If their conduct is such that they are 
known and read of all men; if they are examples 
of purity, disinterestedness, charity, and unsullied 
honor in their dealings with men ; if their manner 
of living be simple and frugal, that they may have 
the more to give to him that needeth ; if they mani- 
fest a determination to obey the will of Christ in all 
things, and are ever more ready to suffer loss than 
to do wrong, then such a church becomes a witness 
for God. Whatever be their social position, they 
are acknowledged to be a company of holy men ; 
not conformed to the world, but a peculiar people, 
transformed by the renewing of their minds. 
Every one sees that while in the world they are 
not of the world, but are victorious over the temp- 
tations by which others are vanquished. "When 
the disciples of Christ maintain such a charac- 
ter before men, the exhortations of a minister of 
the gospel have a definite signification. When he 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 165 

declares that but two classes of men are recog- 
nized in the New Testament, saints and sinners, 
the evidence is before them. When he urges upon 
them the necessity of regeneration, or a radical 
change of moral character, he can point to his 
brethren and ask, Have not these men a prepara- 
tion for heaven of which others are destitute? 
and he knowls that their conscience can give but 
one answer. He has no need to preach sermons 
in proof of the truth of the gospel history, or to 
show in the abstract that there is such a thing as 
religion, for the best of all evidence is before them. 
Here is a type of character which can have been 
produced by no earthly influence, for it triumphs 
over everything earthly ; and the fact of its exist- 
ence can be explained on no other supposition 
than that religion is a reality, and that these men 
are what they profess to be — the children of God. 
But suppose all this to be reversed. Suppose 
the members of a church, or even a considerable 
part of them, are as grasping, avaricious, and 
oppressive in their dealings as other men; that 
they spend their gains in sensual indulgence and 
social dissipation ; that with the same mouth they 
overreach their neighbor and speak to him of their 
hope of salvation ; that they are as greedy of office 
and as unprincipled politicians as other men ; 
suppose, also, that there are men retained in the 



166 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

church, of manifest irreligion, or even of partially- 
known vice, retained there from fear of displeasing 
relatives or for the sake of swelling the number 
of its members ; — suppose all this, of what use 
is it for a minister to urge upon his hearers the 
necessity of a change of heart ? They will reply, 
Of what use can a change of heart be to us, for 
we are in fact more honest and charitable and 
honorable than those whom you call saints, nay, 
we despise the conduct which we daily see them 
practise. He must be a man of a somewhat pecu- 
liar constitution who can long persist in preaching 
the gospel in plainness and simplicity under these 
circumstances. But the minister of such a people 
w T ill not long preach the gospel in plainness and 
simplicity. From very shame he will cease to urge 
the distinctive doctrines of the gospel, and subside 
into a lecturer on subjects more or less directly 
connected with religion, subjects that can disquiet 
the conscience of no one. All parties will like 
him equally well, and all will slumber on quietly, 
while minister and hearers are rapidly drawing 
near to the judgment-seat of Christ. I was very 
much impressed a few days since by the remark 
of an eminently pious minister of the gospel. It 
was to this effect : " The greatest obstacle at pres- 
ent to the progress of religion is the lives of those 
who profess it ! " 



TELER PAS TORAL D UTIES. 167 

It is needless to illustrate at greater length the 
necessity of discipline in the church of Christ. 
Without it any church will, in process of time, 
become both in feeling and practice conformed to 
the world. It will be a stumbling block to the 
world, having the name of Christ while it really 
belongs to his enemies. The salt will have lost its 
savor, and wherewith shall it be salted ? By dis- 
cipline I mean such a care of the members over 
each other, that deviations from the Christian 
character shall be arrested at the outset; and if 
they cannot be arrested by faithful and affection- 
ate advice, that such erring members be excluded 
from the church. It is only in this manner that a 
church can be a witness for Christ ; by the neglect 
of discipline it in fact becomes a witness against 
him. Nor in this is there anything tyrannical or 
oppressive. The church does not make the law. 
Christ has made it, and the church does nothing 
but enforce it upon those who voluntarily come 
under the obligation to obey it. The precept is, 
Withdraw yourselves from every brother that walk- 
eth disorderly ; and this they are bound to do, un- 
less they would be partakers of other men's sins. 
The dealing of the Apostle Paul with the erring 
member of the church at Corinth should be our 
example in such cases. 

This obligation to keep each other from falling 



168 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

into sin rests upon every member. But in this 
work who shall take the lead? Evidently the 
pastor. He is by appointment and by office the 
shepherd — the overseer of the flock. He, more 
than any one else, is acquainted with every mem- 
ber of the church. His word will have more 
effect than that of any other person. His duty in 
this respect is acknowledged by all. If he knows 
that a brother is in danger of falling into sin, or 
if by his practice it is evident that he is declining 
in the Christian life, he is bound to see such 
brother 'strictly in private, and endeavor to bring 
him to repentance and reformation. In many 
cases this is all that will be required ; and no one 
will be more thankful to the pastor, who has thus 
delivered him from the snare of the devil, than the 
erring brother himself. But there are other cases 
of a different nature. The brother may have been 
guilty of conduct that is an offense to the worlc^ 
and a reproach to the cause of Christ. Private 
admonition is not enough in such a case. The 
church, as well as the world, knows of it ; and if 
it does not testify its disapprobation of the sin, it 
becomes a partaker in it. The pastor must bring 
such a case before the church for its action. He 
is an overseer, and he must oversee. He is a 
leader, and he must take the lead in all measures 
for maintaining the purity of the church to which 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 169 

he ministers. If, then, he know that any mem- 
ber of the church is, by his conduct, bringing dis- 
grace upon the cause of Christ, it is his duty, at 
once, privately, to reclaim such a brother, if this 
be possible ; or, if this fail, or the matter is one of 
public offense, it is his next duty to bring the case 
before the church, that, after suitable examination, 
they may take such action as the laws of Christ 
require. If he does not act thus, he fails in his 
duty ; he is destroying his influence as a minister 
of the gospel, and he is responsible to his Master 
for the effect of such an example on the world. 

But perhaps it may be said, We appoint a stand- 
ing committee, and they do all the discipline in- 
stead of the church and the pastor. I would 
answer, It is easy to appoint such a committee to 
carry on the discipline of the church ; but do they 
do it ? Is there commonly any discipline visible, 
in a church that thus leaves this duty to a com- 
mittee ? I ask, again, By what right do we appoint 
such a committee? Has Christ or his apostles 
ever directed it, or informed us what are to be 
their duties and what their qualifications ? Have 
we any right to change the organization of the 
church which Christ has established; and what 
right have we to take from the pastor and the 
church the responsibility which Christ has con- 
ferred exclusively upon them ? 



170 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

The effect of a standing committee is, I think, 
to establish a power to govern the church, instead 
of allowing the church to govern itself; to reduce 
greatly the interest of the members in the doings 
of the church ; to render its meetings a dry and 
uninteresting formality, and to bring the discipline 
almost to a nullity, in which the members feel the 
smallest possible responsibility, as they have de- 
volved that responsibility upon others. It will, I 
believe, be a good day for the churches of New 
England, when they restore the pastor to his 
proper position, and resume for themselves the 
responsibility which they have no right to dele- 
gate to any others. I well know that the duty of 
discipline is in many cases distasteful, and there- 
fore every one seeks to avoid the discharge of it. 
This difficulty is not removed by appointing some 
one to do for us what we do not like to do our- 
selves. It is not to be supposed that they will 
like it better than w T e, and hence it will not be 
done at all. This is one of the causes of the de- 
pressed condition of religion amongst us. The 
difference between the professed disciples of Christ 
and other men is becoming every day less and 
less obvious, and the Saviour might seem to look 
almost in vain among his churches for one that is 
his representative among men. God grant that 
this tendency may be quickly arrested. 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 171 

Before closing this letter, I desire to refer to the 
relation between the church and the congregation ; 
or, as it is commonly termed, the church and 
the society. 

So far as I know, in churches of the Congrega- 
tion alist and Baptist persuasion in New England, 
this relation is of the following character : The 
church is composed of men and women w T ho pro- 
fess to be renewed by the grace of God, separated 
from the world, who have consecrated themselves 
and all they possess to Christ for time and eter- 
nity. They, however, have no power whatever 
over the temporalities of the church. The per- 
sons who own pews in the meeting-house form 
what is called the society, a body corporate by 
law. These may be members of the church or 
not; they may be believers or unbelievers, their 
simple title to membership being that they own a 
pew. A member of the church cannot, without 
this qualification, belong to the society. It is con- 
ceded that the society owns all the property of 
the church. They, by vote, decide upon all its ex- 
penditures ; they fix the salary of the minister; 
they pay for the music, and in fact govern all the 
expenditures of the corporation. When the pul- 
pit is vacant, a joint committee is appointed, 
equally from the church and the society, to select 
a candidate for the pastorate. Half of this com- 



172 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

mittee may be religious, the other half irreligious 
men. When they have agreed upon a candidate, 
and he has preached with acceptance, he is first 
presented to the church. If they elect him, his 
name is then presented to the society for their 
approval. If they coincide with the church, he 
is considered duly elected ; otherwise not. If the 
church and society, therefore, do not coincide, 
the action of the church goes for nothing, and 
another candidate must be presented, who will 
have the sanction of both the church and the 
society. The society having thus a negative upon 
the doings of the church, and the power of deter- 
mining and paying the minister's salary, it comes 
to pass that, virtually, the election of a minister is 
frequently determined by them. 

Nor is this all. The wealth and social position 
of a congregation is generally found, not in the 
church, but the society. The latter are naturally 
in favor of expensive houses of worship, of artistic 
music, and of arrangements that shall indicate 
rank and affluence. In these expenditures, the 
church must coincide with them, or lose their 
cooperation. Expenditures of this kind, once com- 
menced, cannot be reduced, but inevitably increase ; 
and the result is, that the worship of God has be- 
come, in most of our cities, so costly that the poor, 
and even the middling classes, are excluded from 



OIEER PASTORAL DUTIES. 173 

attendance on our churches, for it is beyond their 
means. Is it wonderful that in all our populous 
places the masses are fast lapsing into infidelity, 
and that the Sabbath is coming to be regarded as 
a day devoted to idleness, dissipation, and drunk- 
enness? 

Besides, this relation places the minister in an 
embarrassing position. As I have observed, it is 
liable to have an effect, probably unperceived by 
himself, on his preaching. It is not every minister 
who can fearlessly preach the gospel with unfal- 
tering plainness, when, in so doing, he may give 
offence to those who provide the greater part of 
his support. Nay, more; should he utter the 
simple and uncompromising doctrines of the New 
Testament, and in so doing displease the "lead- 
ing members of the society," it is very likely 
that his own brethren would give him to under- 
stand that he had been rather injudicious; and 
the question would immediately arise, If these 
families withdraw from us, how are our expenses 
to be met? It is not necessary to say what 
must be the tendency of such a relation upon 
a minister. Its effect upon his family is wor- 
thy of a passing notice. The society commonly 
embraces the richest portion of the congrega- 
tion, and those most in the habit of social inter- 
course. The minister and his family will be ex- 



174 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

pected to visit among them ; and this, from the 
nature of the case, will engage the larger portion 
of their visiting. They naturally desire to live, as 
far as possibly after the manner of those with 
whom they associate, and hence are led into un- 
necessary expenses in houses, furniture, dress, and 
manner of living. Hence it happens, not unfre- 
quently, that the minister's family is drawn into a 
style of living above the average of that of the 
members of his church, though far inferior to that 
of many of the members of his society, while he 
himself is pinched and straitened in the effort to 
maintain it. In the meantime, all the benefit of 
the example of a minister in favor of plainness and 
simplicity, and indifference to worldly distinction, 
is lost ; and his children are educated in habits of 
expensiveness utterly at variance with any provi- 
sion which it is in his power to make for them. 

That all these evils everywhere manifest them- 
selves, I by no means assert. I well know that 
they do not. I know that, in a multitude of in- 
stances, gentlemen of the society leave all that 
belongs to the religious interests of the congrega- 
tion to the church, and take pleasure in cooperat- 
ing with them in every good design. This is spe- 
cially the case when the church itself is earnestly 
engaged in the promotion of religion. But that 
the tendency is in the direction which I have 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 175 

pointed out I sincerely believe ; and I think I can 
hardly be mistaken. I know of a case, at a meeting 
of the society of a Baptist church a few years since, 
in which the following facts transpired. The sub- 
ject of the different powers of the church and 
society having been under- discussion, a leading 
member of the society remarked " that the society 
owned the meeting-house, and had unlimited con- 
trol over it and over the pulpit, and that they had 
a right to place in that pulpit whomsoever they 
chose ; even," said he, " a catholic priest, if they 
should so determine." When asked what right, 
then, had the church in this matter, he replied : 
" They may choose their minister if they like, but 
it is for us to say whether he shall occupy the pul- 
pit." Such is the tendency of this relation ; and 
the harmony that is spoken of where the relation 
is acknowledged, is owing to the fact that the 
church avoids coming into collision with the society, 
and by so doing yields the points essential to its 
independence until there is no longer any danger 
of antagonism. When we permanently intrust 
power over us to others, with the expectation that 
it will always be used for our advantage, such ex- 
pectation is very rarely realized. The caution of 
the Saviour is eminently wise : " Give not that 
which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your 
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under 



176 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

their feet, and turn again and rend you." The 
meaning of this homely Jewish proverb, in the 
mouth of the Saviour, evidently is, Surrender not 
the control over the cause of religion into the 
hands of those who have no personal interest in it. 
You can gain nothing by it, and it will in the end 
turn to your disadvantage. 

Of the absurdity of such a claim it is needless 
to speak. A church of Christ is established to 
propagate certain doctrines, participate in certain 
ordinances, and perform certain duties which they 
suppose to be commanded by the Saviour. The 
ownership of their temporal property, by the de- 
cisions of courts of law, must vest in corporators, 
who are called the society ; but this ownership is 
by no means in fee-simple. It is merely a techni- 
cal ownership, for the intention of better enabling 
the church to carry out the purpose for which it 
was organized, and for no other. It is merely a 
trusteeship, a holding of property for the sake of 
accomplishing a particular object. It has no power 
to act for any other purpose. 

If still further we look at the nature of a church 
of Christ, we shall at once perceive that it is essen- 
tially at variance with any such relation. A church 
of Christ is a company of believers, of sinners 
renewed in the spirit of their minds, reconciled to 
God by the sacrifice of his Son, and, through grace, 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 177 

inheritors of eternal life. Such is the idea of a 
church in the New Testament. Now for the good 
of their own souls, and the conversion of the souls 
of others, they, in the fear of God, choose a minis- 
ter whom they believe best qualified to accomplish 
these purposes. But here comes forward a com- 
pany of men, who profess no personal interest in 
the religion of Christ, who may not even believe 
it to be true, and declare that this man is not our 
choice ; you cannot, therefore, have him for your 
minister ; and you must choose some one whom we 
shall select. They might just as well dictate to 
the church in the choice of deacons, or jDrescribe 
w T hat ordinances shall be administered, at what 
time, and in what manner, or who shall or shall 
not be admitted to the church. If these principles 
are carried out to their legitimate result, it is ob- 
vious that they are wholly antagonistic to the very 
ideas on which the church of Christ is established. 
Our fathers long since foresaw the evils which 
might arise from this relation, and for a time man- 
fully resisted it. They were unwilling to apply for 
acts of incorporation, and held their property by 
trustees of their own choosing. The tide of world- 
liness, however, rose so high, that every barrier was 
gradually swept away. They were considered over- 
scrupulous, behind the age ; but a result has been 
reached which has justified their apprehensions. 
12 



178 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

I need not, however, pursue this subject at 
greater length. When the attention of thought- 
ful men is turned to it, I apprehend that they will 
find it to be of graver importance than they have 
heretofore supposed. 

The question will, of course, arise, Supposing ail 
this to be so, what is to be done ? The remedy for 
these evils is apparent ; and if Christian men are 
willing to apply it, there is no doubt of its efficacy. 
The support of the ministry, and the expenses at- 
tendant upon the worship of God, properly belong 
to the church itself, and to the church alone. They 
alone have been taught by the Holy Spirit the 
value of the soul, and the means most likely to 
lead to its salvation. It is the distinctive duty of 
their profession, to consecrate themselves and their 
substance to the promotion of the kingdom of 
Christ, and complete the work on earth which he 
came from heaven to accomplish. They should, 
then, build their own meeting-houses, support their 
own minister, and, in a word, pay all the expense 
required for the decent and proper worship of God. 
They should be ashamed to ask others to do for 
them what it is their privilege and duty to do for 
themselves. Much more should they be ashamed 
to ask men who have no personal interest in reli- 
gion to minister to their love of magnificence, 
while, as a compensation, they surrender to them 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 179 

the control of those arrangements on which the 
prosperity of the cause of Christ vitally depends. 

It will, of course, in the first place, be said, If we 
pursue this course it will cost the church a great 
deal more money. There can be no doubt on this 
subject ; it undoubtedly will; and is it not just that 
it should ? There are many congregations in which 
those who have no personal interest in religion pay 
more towards its expenses than those who profess 
themselves to be disciples of Christ. Is not this a 
shame ? and is it wonderful if, under these circum- 
stances, we should lay ourselves open to the charge 
of professing what we really do not believe? 
And this reproach is rendered the more pungent 
from the well-known fact that we profess to have 
surrendered ourselves and all that we possess to the 
cause of Christ, and have vowed to live no more 
to ourselves, but to him. On what principle, then, 
can we surrender the government of his church 
to others, for the sake of retaining to ourselves a 
greater portion of the mammon that perisheth ? 
Do w^e believe the words of our Saviour, "Except 
a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of 
God"? 

But it will be said, If we alone bear the expen- 
ses of the worship of God, we can neither erect 
splendid and costly meeting-houses, nor adorn our 
services with such accessories as shall attract men 



180 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

of taste, refinement, and intelligence. Possibly 
this may be so. But who hath required such 
expenditure at our hands? Are the souls of the 
few men of taste, refinement, and intelligence, 
whom we may attract by our architectural costli- 
ness, of any more value than the souls of the hun- 
dreds of the poor whom, by these very means, we 
exclude from our sanctuaries ? Is not the expen- 
siveness of the worship of God in our cities one 
of the reasons why the mass of our people are 
coming to spend the Sabbath in idleness and crim- 
inal indulgence ? 

But it may be said that taste and imagination 
are given us by our Creator ; and is it not right to 
gratify them in the worship of God, and thus make 
them subservient to our spiritual improvement ? 
To this I would reply, when the beautiful is at 
variance with the useful, good taste requires that 
the former should always give place to the latter. 
If a column were ever so beautiful, but totally 
unable to support a building, would not that taste 
expose itself to scorn which should insist on plac- 
ing it where it would inevitably work the destruc- 
tion of the whole edifice ? I ask, When did ex- 
pensive architecture and costly ceremonial ever 
conduce to the true worship of God under the 
New Testament dispensation ? Have not the ages 
in which the most costly monuments of ecclesiasti- 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 181 

cal architecture have been reared, been also ages of 
the deepest spiritual darkness ? Again, if the 
kingdom of Christ is to rely for its existence and 
extension upon the gratification of taste and imag- 
ination, and, in general, on the love of the beautiful, 
is it not strange that the Son of God, when on 
earth, did not discover it ? Music and architecture 
and ceremonial have their own effect, but it is not 
the effect of the Spirit of God, nor is the voice of 
taste as powerful as the voice of conscience ; and 
it is by the action of the Spirit on the conscience 
that we expect the world to be converted. I know 
that by splendid ceremonial we may attract the 
gay and thoughtless, who go to church as they 
would go to an opera ; but let a house of worship 
be ever so plain, even like the upper chamber at 
Jerusalem, if its attendants be really holy men, 
if it be known that the Holy Spirit is in the 
midst of them, making men new creatures in 
Christ Jesus, the multitude will come together, you 
cannot keep them away, and they will begin to cry 
out, "Men and brethren, w T hat shall we do?" Con- 
science will compel men of all classes to attend 
such meetings, and nothing can resist its urgency. 
They will come, not to display their personal 
adornment, not to gaze upon stained-glass win- 
dows, not to listen to artistic music, but to know 
what they shall do to be saved. 



182 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

I believe, then, that the members of the church 
of Christ should own their house of worship, and 
have the exclusive control over everything that 
would in any manner limit their power to act 
according to their own views of duty to Christ. 
I believe that, claiming this authority and exer- 
cising it, they should assume the whole expense 
of public worship in all its departments. If 
any one desires to worship with them, they 
should receive him gladly, and cheerfully present 
him and his family with the use of a pew so long 
as he chooses to occupy it. If he desires to con- 
tribute to their expenses, let them receive his 
donation gratefully; it being, however, always un- 
derstood, that, until he became a member of the 
church of Christ, he could acquire no right to con- 
trol any of its arrangements. Such do I consider 
to be the mode of action demanded by the princi- 
ples of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When, how- 
ever, existing arrangements have been made with 
the present understanding, I would have nothing 
done which shall violate even an implied contract. 
I would, however, return to Christian principles, 
just as fast as it can be done consistently with 
pledged faith and a pure conscience. We may not 
do evil that good may come, but I would have 
good come as fast as it can, without the doing of 
any evil. 



OTHER PASTORAL DUTIES. 183 

Let it not be supposed that I mean the slightest 
disrespect to those gentlemen, and there are many 
such, who, from disinterested benevolence, have 
labored earnestly and given largely of their sub- 
stance to support the institutions of religion. I 
trust I am incapable of feeling towards them any 
other sentiments than those of gratitude and re- 
spect. They have done for us what we ought to 
have done for ourselves. They themselves must 
see that the principles on which the present rela- 
tion between the church and society rest are capa- 
ble of great abuse, and though they would not 
abuse it, there are others who might. We wish to 
be untramraeled in our labor for their eternal wel- 
fare, and I am sure they will not blame us. We 
pray without ceasing for their salvation, and gladly 
would we welcome them to fellowship with us. But, 
so long as they refuse to obey the commands of our 
common Saviour, they must not take it unkindly 
if we are unwilling to trust his cause in their 
hands, when, in so doing, we must also commit it 
to those who will not use their power as they have 
done. Rather than do this we are willing to as- 
sume the whole expense of worship, because we 
believe it will be for their spiritual good as well as 
for our own, and expect from them no other mate- 
rial aid than they voluntarily choose to furnish. 
I am, yours, truly. 



LETTER IX. 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 



My Dear Brother: 

\\T E may congratulate each other that we are 
" * approaching the end of this prolonged dis- 
cussion. I say prolonged, because I supposed at 
the beginning that forty or fifty pages would afford 
sufficient space for the accomplishment of my pur- 
pose. The subject, however, has seemed to in- 
crease in importance as I have pursued it, and 
has led me into other fields, which, at first, I did 
not intend to occupy. I have but one topic more 
to which I shall direct your attention. It is min- 
isterial example. Upon this I now purpose to 
enter. 

The importance of the example of a minister of 
Christ is obvious to the most casual observer. In 
the first place, he is evidently under the same re- 
sponsibilities as other men. We always expect that 
a man's deportment will not be inconsistent with 
the occupation which he has chosen, and on which 
his success in life depends. Especially we think 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 185 

it inexcusable folly for a man to allow himself in 
any habits which would nullify the effect of all his 
serious labor. A physician, for instance, holds im- 
portant relations to the community. We intrust 
to his decisions the lives of those most dear to us. 
A right-minded physician cannot act in cases which 
daily present themselves, without a solemn convic- 
tion of the responsibility which rests upon him. 
In a man thus habitually occupied, we naturally 
look for a gravity of manner, a though tfulness of 
demeanor, in harmony with the circumstances by 
which he is surrounded. If he be frivolous and 
trifling ; if we plainly perceive that he cares not a 
rush whether his patient recover or die, provided 
his fee be secure ; if in the midst of a despairing 
family he can be jocose and unfeeling; and, still 
more, if his habitual companions are the gay and 
thoughtless, who know of no serious business in 
life, we instinctively recoil from him as one whose 
deportment is utterly inconsistent with the solem- 
nity of the decisions which he is called upon to 
form. His pocket may be filled with diplomas 
from all the schools in America and Europe, but it 
will avail him nothing. Death-beds are not places 
for trifling, and he will not be asked to approach 
them. 

Or, take the service to which the ministry of the 
gospel is likened by the Apostle Paul, that of an 



186 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

ambassador. An ambassador is sent, for instance, 
to a revolted province with terms of peace and 
reconciliation ; and on the success or failure of his 
mission the life and property of thousands of his 
fellow-men depend. Every word that he utters 
will be watched by his hearers with the most jeal- 
ous attention ; for to misunderstand him may be 
fatal. Nor are his words alone observed : his ac- 
tions, his general deportment, the very tones of his 
voice, are worthy of notice. All men wish to know 
not only what he says, but, from the manner of his 
saying it, from his general bearing, they wish to 
learn what is the real verity. Was he actually 
sent by the sovereign whom he professes to repre- 
sent? Is he such a person as would be likely to be 
commissioned on such an errand? Does he* really 
believe the document which he professes to com- 
municate ? Does he act as if the message which 
he bears was of unspeakable importance ; as though 
he in fact believed that his hearers were in immi- 
nent peril, and that the words which he addressed 
to them convey their only hope of salvation ? 

But, suppose that this ambassador, intrusted 
with a message of transcendent importance, ex- 
hibits no particular interest in the delivery of it : 
suppose he clothes it in language which not more 
than one in ten can clearly understand : suppose 
he only presents it when he is paid for it, and then 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 187 

that he is apparently as desirous of raising for 
himself a literary reputation as of leading men to 
accept of it ; that his communication having been 
thus delivered, he seems to think no more about 
it ; that except on particular and set occasions he 
never alludes to the terms of his embassy, and 
never of his own motion speaks of it even to his 
most intimate personal friends; that he enters 
with his rebellious fellow-citizens into all their 
amusements, and makes the rule of his conduct, not 
the precepts of his sovereign, but the customs of 
the society by which he is surrounded, — suppose 
all this, would any one believe that his mission 
was a reality, or that he in the least considered the 
danger to be such as he declared himself commis- 
sioned to make known ? Would not the men to 
whom he was accredited slumber on in security 
until the time of reconciliation had passed away ? 
Then on whom would the responsibility of their 
destruction rest? 

Now, in the light of the New Testament, the 
responsibility of a physician, or an ambassador, is 
a small matter in comparison with that of a minis- 
ter of Christ. In the one case, the interests only 
of time are treated of; in the other, the interests 
of eternity. Every word, nay, every action of him 
who comes as a messenger of God, may have an 
important effect upon an immortal soul. Men ex- 



188 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

pect from such a person a deportment in harmony 
with the grave importance of the message which 
he delivers. If he be habitually frivolous, jocular, 
or trilling, it is impossible for his hearers to think 
him in earnest, or that he believes what, on peril 
of eternal destruction, he calls upon others to 
believe. How many a moving discourse has been 
rendered useless by the conversation of half an 
hour, after the assembly has been dismissed ! 
The minister has destroyed the effect of his 
preaching in the company into which he has 
fallen. They repeat it to others ; it is the talk of 
the whole neighborhood ; and thus he succeeds in 
eradicating every trace of seriousness from minds 
on which he seemed to have produced some good 
impression. I have, myself, known of just such 
cases, in which it came to be the common remark : 

" When Mr. is in the pulpit we think he should 

never come out ; and when he is out we think he 
should never go in? I well remember an instance 
of this kind, in my own experience. I had been 
preaching on a solemn subject on a week-day even- 
ing, and the audience seemed more than ordinarily 
interested. In walking out with one of my hear- 
ers, I was guilty of making some trifling remark, 
the spirit of which was wholly at variance with all 
that I had been saying. I was immediately im- 
pressed with my inconsistency and w T rong-doing ; 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 189 

and, though more than thirty years have elapsed 
since this occurrence, I never think of it without 
regret, and, I hope, repentance ; for that one trifling- 
expression may have wrought permanent injury to 
an immortal soul. 

Discerning men recognize at once the tone of 
character which befits a minister of the gospel. 
His daily occupation is to warn men to flee from 
the wrath to come ; to point sinners to the Lamb 
of God ; to visit the sick and dying ; and, that he 
may do these things with success, his mind must 
be habitually penetrated with these momentous 
ideas. Such thoughts must surround him with an 
atmosphere utterly repugnant to trifling amuse- 
ment and social dissipation. Men of sense expect 
to see the tone of character which such habitual 
reflection cannot but create; and when they see 
it they do it honor. It is true they will often 
welcome a minister to scenes of gayety, because 
his presence seems to declare that, in his opinion, 
it is innocent thus to spend the time of an immor- 
tal being. It is, however, a cutting, though unin- 
tentional rebuke, when a man given up to the 
world meets a minister amidst a scene of thought- 
less gayety, and, taking his hand, expresses his 
pleasure at seeing him ; adding, in the blandest of 
tones, "I hardly expected to meet you here!" 
luxurious and expensive entertainments, and most 



190 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

of the forms of public amipement, are inappro- 
priate places for him who teaches men " to turn 
from these vanities to serve the living God." It 
is not enough to ask, What is the positive harm 
of these amusements ? it is sufficient to say that 
they constitute one of the gods which men of this 
world worship, and by which they are led captive 
by thousands, to their eternal undoing. Nor is 
this all. It is impossible for hearers to believe that 
a minister who is seen amidst scenes of gayety 
and dissipation, is in earnest when he urges them 
to flee from the wrath to come. If he does not 
enjoy them, say they, why is he here? If he does 
enjoy them, say what he will, he is at heart just 
like one of us. The effect of such associations on 
a minister's preaching is obvious. That man must 
be endowed with an unusual amount of modest 
assurance, who during the week will unite in the 
gayety of fashionable life, and on the Sabbath 
preach on the realities of eternity and the abso- 
lute necessity of setting our affections on things 
above, not on things on the earth. An eminent 
minister of the gospel, the most eloquent preacher 
that I ever heard, once said to me, " When I was 

settled in the city of , a large number of the 

most distinguished men in the State attended my 
church; they were really very kind to me, and 
always invited me to their dinner-parties. For a 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 191 

while I accepted their invitations. They were 
men of high intelligence, and their parties were 
disgraced by no intemperance or excess. But I 
found that if I dined with them on Saturday I 
could not preach to the sinners as I wanted to on 
Sunday ; so I broke it off altogether." Did he 
not, in this case, act as became a minister of 
reconciliation ? 

But it will, perhaps, be said that Jesus Christ, 
when on earth, accepted of invitations to dine, 
in all companies ; and it was even said of him, 
by way of reproach, " This man receiveth sinners, 
and eateth with them " : why may we not safely 
take him for our example? Undoubtedly we 
may, if we will honestly take him as our exam- 
ple. It is true, Jesus Christ seems to have gone 
into any company to which he was invited, but he 
always went as a simple preacher of righteousness; 
and some of the most solemn and searching appeals 
that he ever delivered were spoken on such occa- 
sions. He was with the men around him, but he 
was not of them; and, setting aside all convention- 
alities, he employed such occasions, as he did all 
others, as opportunities for preaching the kingdom 
of God. If a man will act as Jesus Christ acted, 
there can be no objection to his going anywhere. 
If, however, he cannot do this, hejiad better keep 
out of the w T ay of temptation. It is certainly 



192 'MINIS TR Y OF THE G OSPEL. 

innocent for him to stay at home ; it is not inno- 
cent to go where, by his conduct, he may deny 
his Master, bring guilt upon his own soul, and 
place a stumbling-block before the souls of others. 
William Allen and Stephen Grellet, distinguished 
members of the Society of Friends, made several 
journeys on the continent of Europe, on religious 
missions. They were commonly received with 
much attention by men of the very highest rank, 
on account of their personal character and active 
philanthropy. They were frequently invited to 
dine with persons eminent for position, with 
princes, ministers of state, and others of great 
consideration, and they frequently accepted the 
invitations. They always, however, went as the 
disciples of Christ, and entered into no conversa- 
tion inconsistent with that character ; and it was 
their habit, before the company separated, to 
spend a portion of time in religious exhortation 
and prayer. On such, as on all other occasions, it 
became evident that the object to which every 
other was subordinate was, to relieve distress, to 
succor the unfortunate, to circulate the Scriptures, 
and urge all men to serious attention to the sub- 
ject of personal religion. Their conduct was thus 
consistent with their profession, and their ad- 
dresses were always received w T ith respect, and 
frequently with thankfulness and tears. Oh that 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE, 193 

we had many such tourists, both laymen and 
ministers of the gospel, travelling over Europe at 
the present day ! 

Again, no one who has been in the habit of con- 
versation with young persons on the subject of 
religion, can have failed to observe that the 
love of social amusement, more than anything 
else, takes off the thoughts from God and eternity, 
renders the mind the slave of the things that 
perish, and presents one of the strongest obsta- 
cles to repentance. How can a minister, whose 
business it is to win souls, sanction, by his presence, 
amusements which he knows stand directly in the 
way of a sinner's conversion ? It may be said, 
perhaps, Tell us, then, what are the amusements 
which a minister may properly attend, and what 
those which he should avoid ? This is not possi- 
ble, nor is it needful. A sanctified heart will 
guide a minister aright ; to an unsanctified heart 
rules are of no value. When such a question 
arises, let him ask himself, in the first place, Is this 
amusement innocent ? in the next place, Is it a 
suitable occupation for the soul of an immortal 
being; will it improve my physical, intellectual, or 
moral health ; is it liable to be misunderstood, so 
that it maybe a stumbling-block to others; will 
it promote or retard the great object to which I 
have consecrated my life ? The answer to these 
13 



194 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

questions will enable a minister to decide correctly, 
if he really wishes to know the will of the Master. 
"If meat," says St. Paul, "maketh my brother 
to offend, I will eat no meat while the world 
standeth ! " 

But a minister of the gospel may destroy his 
power for good directly, as well as indirectly. His 
special character is that of a moral teacher; and 
we all know that the power of a moral teacher is 
measured, in a great degree, by his obedience to 
the truth w T hich he delivers to others. He may 
bind as many burdens as he pleases upon the 
shoulders of other men, but they will easily cast 
them off if he assumes none of them himself. 
What effect can be produced by an habitual 
drunkard lecturing on intemperance ; or a grasping 
miser discoursing on charity ; or a profligate de- 
bauchee setting forth the praises of purity ? We 
must make it evident that we abhor the sins 
which we denounce, and strive after the excellen- 
ces which we inculcate, or our teachings will be 
not merely powerless, they will be odious and 
offensive. 

But to illustrate my meaning by example. The 
minister of the gospel teaches the vanity of every- 
thing earthly and temporal, in comparison with 
those things eternal in the heavens; but his 
preaching will be powerless, if, practically, he sets 



MINISTERIAL EXAMPLE. 195 

the same value upon things sublunary as those 
who profess to be living for this world alone. He 
may preach on the clangers of wealth, and how 
hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of 
heaven, but his preaching will avail little if he 
is as grasping at a bargain, as eager to accumulate, 
as ready to move in any direction at the offer of a 
larger salary, as men who profess to be governed 
by nothing but the love of gain. He may dis- 
course forcibly on the corrupting influence of 
place and power and station, but it will all be 
useless if it is observed that he is himself eager 
after positions of ecclesiastical influence, never 
tired of hearing his own voice at public meetings, 
striving to hold the first place among his brethren, 
coveting literary reputation, academical distinc- 
tions, and things which sensible men would be 
ashamed to aspire after. He may preach most 
movingly on the universal duty of consecrating all 
that we possess to the service of Christ, but it will 
come home to no one's conscience if it be observed 
that he habitually pleads his office as a reason 
why he should escape the ordinary sacrifices de- 
manded of his brethren. He may powerfully insist 
upon making everything subsidiary to the great 
life-work of saving souls, and may show that we 
have no right to spend an hour of our time or a 
dollar of our money without asking whether we 



196 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

have the permission of the Master ; but the effect 
of this preaching will be small if, no matter what 
is the condition of his parish, he always has leisure 
for a journey of pleasure, a trip to Europe, or a 
visit to a watering-place. He may discourse with 
great soundness of judgment on the duty of 
Christian parents to bring up their children in the 
nurture of the Lord, but it will be all labor in 
vain if he allows his family in every indulgence 
which his means will any way admit, and if it be 
observed that he is far more anxious to see them 
rich, powerful, and applauded, than humble, de- 
vout, pious, and self-denying. When such incon- 
sistencies exist, the people hear his words, and 
look upon his example; they may obey the one, 
or follow the other. Which will they choose? I 
need not answer the question. The religious char- 
acter of a people whose minister preaches the 
truth ever so eloquently from the pulpit, but 
whose conduct out of the pulpit is at direct 
variance with all that he inculcates, will furnish 
all the reply that is necessary. 

I am, yours, truly. 



LETTER X. 

PERSONAL EXPLANATION. — CONCLUSION. 

Mr Dear Brother : 

TT7ERE I writing for you alone, I should con- 
* * sider my task completed. But as you re- 
quested me to write for the public, and as these 
pages may meet other eyes than yours, a few 
words, at the close, not for you, but for others, 
seem to me to be almost indispensable. At any 
rate, I feel it due to myself to add some sugges- 
tions which I have reserved for the close, as they 
can be more appropriately introduced here than 
in any other place. 

It will very naturally be asked, Were you your- 
self ever such a minister as you urge us to be ? 
You tell us that our lives must illustrate our 
teaching. Was your practice such as your teach- 
ing prescribes? 

I might, perhaps, suggest that this is a matter, 
not of individual, but of universal concernment. 
The true question is, Do these evils exist, and 
ought they to be removed ; and not whether they 



198 MINISTRY OF TEE GOSPEL. 

lie at the door of any particular individual. I 
might have easily avoided this question by pub- 
lishing what I have written anonymously; but I 
chose not to do it. I preferred to publish under 
my own name, and bear to the full whatever 
odium may attach to making known what I con- 
sider to be important truths. If I have not lived 
as it becomes a Christian minister, I deserve to 
be blamed for it as much as any of my brethren ; 
and I would humbly bear the rebuke to which my 
conduct justly exposes me. 

If I am asked how I discharged my duty as a 
pastor, the question is susceptible of two distinct 
answers : the first from the people to whom I 
ministered, and the second from my own con- 
sciousness in the sight of God. The portion of 
my life devoted directly to pastoral duty is not 
large. I was for five years pastor of the First Bap- 
tist Church in Boston. So far as the eye of man 
can discover, they know my walk and conversa- 
tion. Of those to whom I then ministered the 
greater part have fallen asleep ; but enough of 
them remain at this present to testify in what 
respects I did or did not perform my duties as 
pastor among them ; and I know of no reason 
why they should not testify truly. I think they 
will bear witness, at least, that I left them a happy, 
harmonious, and loving band of Christian disci- 



PERSONAL EXPLANATION.— CONCLUSION. 199 

pies, and such they have remained until the pres- 
ent day. Of the extent and depth of their attach- 
ment to me I had no conception until I had prom- 
ised to enter another sphere of labor. Had I 
known of it sooner, I should probably have been 
their pastor to-day. 

Turning away, however, from man's opinion of 
my pastorate, and reviewing it in the sight of a 
holy and omniscient God, I must humble myself in 
the dust, as one of his most unprofitable servants. 
I do not accuse myself of indolence, or a disposi- 
tion to shrink from any labor that came upon me 
as a pastor. I was moved to action by a feeling 
of responsibility and by a clogged sense of duty that 
carried me through my work when my health was 
feeble, and, to many persons, seemed declining. It 
was not in the amount, but in the kind of labor that 
I was greatly deficient. Circumstances which it 
would be needless to mention excited in me an am- 
bition for scholarship and literary reputation. Thus, 
though I hope I avoided trifling in the pulpit, 
my preparation for the Sabbath came to be more 
of an intellectual than a moral exercise. In the 
mean time my brethren assigned me important 
duties in connection with missions and education, 
which soon demanded a large portion of my time. 
While I was thus continually occupied, my labor 
tended to draw me away from my own heart, and 



200 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

from effort for the spiritual good of my people. I 
had little time for reading the word of God and 
cultivating devout communion with my Saviour. 
My mind became secularized, and I wandered far 
from God. When I think how unfaithfully I did 
the work of an ambassador of Christ, and how far 
I departed from him, I wonder at the compassion 
that bore with me, and condescended to give me 
any, even the least, success. 

During the latter part of my ministry, I was 
painfully conscious of my condition, and was thor- 
oughly dissatisfied with myself. I had, before 
God, undertaken the care of the souls of my peo- 
ple, and this was the only ground on which I 
received from them my support. They had a 
right to my whole time, and I gave them but a 
part of it ; by far the greater part was given to 
business, which, though relating to the affairs of 
our denomination, had nothing to do with their 
spiritual welfare. I saw that, without I gave up 
everything but my pastoral duty, I could not act 
justly to my people; but how to do this I did 
not see possible. Under these circumstances, I 
accepted a position in a college, with the expecta- 
tion of soon returning to the ministry, to com- 
mence it under different auspices. This expecta- 
tion was not, however, to be realized. I was soon 
called to another service in the work of education, 
which I occupied for nearly thirty years. 



PERSONAL EXPLANATION.— CONCLUSION. 201 

In thus exchanging the ministry for the work of 
education, though I acted with the sanction of all 
my brethren, I think I erred. It was wrong to 
place anything in comparison with the work of 
saving souls. Had I been more solemnly devoted 
to the labor to which the Master appointed me, I 
should have escaped this error. During my min- 
istry in Boston, I contracted the habit of writing 
and reading my sermons. Though I did this at 
the suggestion of my people, I consider it as one 
of the great errors of my life. This error I should 
have escaped if I had thought more of moral 
preparation for the pulpit, if my mind had been 
more habitually devout, and I had cultivated a 
more humble reliance on the Spirit of God. But 
why should I recall the incidents of a life full of 
mistakes and moral imperfections? It may, per- 
haps, be sufficient to say, that, if I have any knowl- 
edge of the faults of the ministry, the germs, at 
least, of that knowledge have been derived from 
my own painful experience. 

When, a few years since, I was called tempo- 
rarily to the exercise of the pastoral office, I en- 
deavored in some measure to obey the precepts 
which I have here inculcated upon others. I at 
once laid aside every other labor, and confined my 
reading almost exclusively to the Bible and to 
works on devotional or practical religion. To the 



202 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

measure of my physical ability, I preached the 
gospel, both publicly and from house to house, 
seeking to hold personal conversation on the sub- 
ject of religon, as far as it was possible, with every 
member of the whole congregation. The Lord in 
mercy gave me such success as seemed good to 
him ; and though my imperfections were many and 
my practice fell very far short of my duty as a 
minister, I can truly say that no part of my minis- 
terial life was so full of enjoyment as this, and 
upon no part of it do I look back with so much 
satisfaction. I do firmly believe that, to gain vic- 
tory over one's self, over the love of reputation, 
position, or emolument, to consider all things but 
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus our Lord, and in the face of all men to 
preach simply what the word of God teaches, to 
preach that only, and to do this day after day, no 
matter what men may think of us, is the only 
way to secure a happy and successful ministry, to 
be happy in our own souls, from the presence of 
Christ abiding in us, and at last to hear his voice, 
" Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord ! " 

And now, having made my confession, and 
placed myself in the condition of the most erring 
of my brethren, accepting the rebukes which my 
faults as a minister deserve, I may, with the greater 



PERSONAL EXPLANA TION.— CONCL USION. 203 

boldness, make my final appeal to the ambassadors 
of Christ. I pray God that I may write every 
word in his fear, and if in anything I violate 
the spirit of Christian love, I may find mercy in 
the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be 
made manifest. 

We are, in this country, living at a period in 
which every external obstacle to the progress of 
religion has been removed. Liberty of speech 
and of the press is inviolate. Men speak and write 
their opinions, on all subjects, with unrestrained 
boldness. There is nothing to prevent us from dis- 
cipling the. whole nation to Christ. The Bible is 
open to all, and efforts are incessant to furnish 
every family in our land with a copy of it. The 
State is sparing neither labor nor expense to enable 
every child born among us to read it. The sum 
annually spent for the maintenance of external 
worship is very great. Magnificent churches are 
erected in our cities and villages, and the amounts 
required for carrying on very expensive accessories 
to worship are liberally provided. Seminaries, 
which gratuitously furnish expensive education to 
all, and, in some cases, board and lodging to the 
indigent, are established by every denomination 
of Christians. Never before had Christianity so 
fair an opportunity to subdue all things to obedi- 
ence to Christ as in these United States. Besides 



204 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

all this, this is, in a special manner, a land of Sab- 
baths. One day in seven is set apart for the wor- 
ship of God, and this day ministers have all to them- 
selves. They may occupy as much of this time 
as they please in making known to us our duty to 
God and our neighbor, as it has been revealed to 
us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It would 
seem that we must be a very religious, and, of 
course, a very moral people, well acquainted with 
the oracles of God, and thoroughly inclined to 
reduce them to practice. 

And now, what is the actual result of all this ? 
What is the spectacle which this nation at this mo- 
ment presents to the world ! A million or more 
of our citizens are engaged in mutual slaughter! 
Hundreds of thousands have already fallen by the 
sword and by the diseases incident to camps. Of 
this million of men the greater part have been 
hearers of the gospel ; and all this sacrifice has 
been rendered necessary in order to maintain the 
best government that God has ever bestowed upon 
man. 

Again, in this country, intelligence is more 
widely diffused than in any nation on earth. 
We choose our own rulers ; we are the sovereigns 
in whom rests exclusively the appointing power. 
If our public officers are not good men, we have 
no one to blame but ourselves. If the professors 



PERSONAL EXPLANAT10N.-C0NCLUSI0N. 205 

of religion chose to act on the principles of their 
Master, and consider citizenship as a responsibility 
for which they must give account, they would 
easily, without any formal organization, control 
this nation. But what do we find to be the fact ? 
The people, as is always the case in free govern- 
ments, are divided into two parties ; but that po- 
litical party is yet to arise which will not sacrifice 
right to what it considers expediency, and which 
will not tolerate any wrong when it is supposed 
that the interests of the party require it. Yet, in 
the ranks of one or other of these parties religious 
men are found by the wholesale, aiding and abet- 
ting what they know to be wrong, if they suppose 
it will ensure a majority of votes at the coming 
election; a majority of votes, perhaps, to be given 
to a man who has no single moral attribute to en- 
title him to a suffrage. Thus is the religious influ- 
ence of the professors of religion reduced to noth- 
ing. The maxim seems to be adopted — religion is 
one thing, and politics another; as though men 
could carve out a portion of their lives over which 
God should have no control, and which he would 
never bring into judgment. And what is the re- 
sult ? The most sagacious observer that ever vis- 
ited this country was profoundly astonished to see 
how large was the number of able men out of office, 
and how small was the number in office. But we 



206 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

need not the testimony of foreigners on this sub- 
ject. Enter the halls of our national legislature, 
and who is not sick at heart while reflecting that 
into such hands the destinies of this country have 
been committed ? Has not Washington become 
the theatre for the display of the most odious of 
human passions, the chosen seat of corruption, in- 
temperance, and venality ? And all this is done 
under the full light of the pure gospel of Jesus 
Christ. For this the professors of religion are, at 
the bar of God, greatly responsible. 

Again, observe the flood of intemperance that 
deluges the land, sweeping away men in every po- 
sition of life, bringing disgrace upon our public 
counsels, and bringing the masses by hundreds of 
thousands to an untimely grave. It is in the power 
of the followers of Christ, by wise and just legis- 
lation, but especially by precept and example, to 
arrest this evil. But it is not arrested. We make 
a movement in this direction every few years, when 
some political end is to be secured, but when this 
occasion passes away it is all over. Are Chris- 
tians, in this matter, the salt of the earth ? 

Again, the common maxims of trade are con- 
fessed to be very unlike the laws of Christ ; indeed, 
so unlike as to be utterly at variance with them. 
But do Christian men of business so obey the laws 
of Christ that they form a class by themselves, 



PERSONAL EXPLANATION.— CONCLUSION. 207 

turning with abhorrence from everything false or 
dishonest or treacherous or mean ? Or do they 
assimilate themselves with the men about them, 
under the plea that unless they do as others do 
they can never grow rich ? And after they have 
grown rich, what is the difference in the manner 
of expenditure of wealth between him who pro- 
fesses to fear God and him who fears him not? Do 
not both bow down to the same idols, and sacrifice 
without stint to sensuality, luxury, and ostenta- 
tion? I might extend to almost any length this 
catalogue of our national sins by reference to the 
vices which we annually import from the licentious 
capitals of Europe. But the subject is too painful. 
I forbear. 

The question that arises here is, Who is to blame 
for all this ? Can we escape the conclusion that a 
large share of it rests upon ourselves ? Have we, 
as ambassadors of Christ, made known to men, in 
all plainness, earnestness, and solemnity, the law 
of God in all its exceeding broadness ? Have we 
brought this law home to men's business and bo- 
soms, that they might see clearly wherein they have 
violated it; or have we weakly forborne to tell the 
truth for fear of giving offence ? Have we made 
known this law with all its tremendous sanctions, 
or have we so glozed over the truth that no one 
would from our preaching suppose that he was in 



208 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL, 

any particular danger ? Have we clearly discerned 
between the righteous and the wicked, or have we 
taken it for granted that every one who says, Lord ! 
Lord ! shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ? 
Have we, with all plainness, delivered " the mes- 
sage which we have heard from him, that God is 
light, and in him there is no darkness at all ; " and 
" that if we say that we have fellowship with him 
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth "? 
Have we preached clearly that, no matter what 
may be our experiences, " this is the love of God, 
that we keep his commandments " ? Have we im- 
pressed it upon men that our hope of heaven is all 
a fallacy unless we are ready to obey Christ in all 
things, though it cost us the surrender of human 
applause, the riches of the world, and expose us to 
persecution, reproach, nay, death itself; and do we 
thus obey him ? Have we not all sinned in this 
respect, and become guilty of our brother's blood ? 
I confess, with shame, that in all these things I have 
greatly failed in my duty. Is it not so with you ? 
If the awful chastisement which is now laid upon 
our country for our sins is in any respect owing to 
our unfaithfulness, how great must be our guilt, 
and how fearful our responsibility ! Words are in- 
adequate to express the solemnity of our position. 
Let each one apply the oracles of God honestly to 
his own conscience, and he will feel what words 
cannot utter. 



PERSONAL EXPLANATION.— CONCLUSION. 209 

What, then, is to be done ? The past cannot be 
recalled. The results of our unfaithfulness have, 
for the most part, passed before us into eternity. 
The present is still with us, and now is the day of 
salvation. Let us all confess our sins to our people, 
and especially to Almighty God. Let us plead 
that atoning blood which cleanseth from all sin. 
Here is our only hope of pardon. It is yet a faith- 
ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; 
and let us do works meet for repentance. In spite 
of sneers and obloquy and reproach, let us declare 
the whole counsel of God. Let us cast away all 
desire of reputation for scholarship, all love of dis- 
tinction, and be content to preach the simple truths 
of the New Testament in all their breadth and 
length, whether men will hear or whether they will 
forbear. While doing all this, let us in humble 
faith rely upon the aid of the Spirit of God, which 
is promised everywhere to accompany the truth as 
it is in Jesus. We are nothing, and can do nothing ; 
but when we faithfully utter the truth of God, he 
can do everything. Oh, what a reformation would 
follow such a baptism of the Spirit among the min- 
isters of Christ ! Our country would fall down 
before God in humble penitence, confessing its 
sins and pleading for pardon through the atone- 
ment of Christ. The chastening of God would 
14 



210 MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL. 

have accomplished its purpose, and he would re- 
store to us the blessings of peace on the principles 
of righteousness, which we by our sins have for- 
feited. Out of the infinite misery of this fearful 
contest, he would, in his own way, cause such an 
improvement in national character as should be 
more than a compensation for all that we have 
suffered. We should still be a day-star to the na- 
tions in darkness, the hope of those struggling for 
civil and religious freedom. God would be mer- 
ciful to us, and bless us, that his way might be 
known upon earth, his saving health among all 
nations. The Lord hasten it in his time, and to 
his name shall be the glory. 

Yours, very truly. 



&\t <&ni>* 



WORKS JUST PUBLISHED. 



THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. A New Edition. With 
a Supplementary Dialogue, in which the author's reviewers are 
reviewed. 12mo. cloth. 81 00. 

This masterly production, which has excited so much interest in this country and 
in Europe, will now have an increased attraction in the addition of the Supplement, 
in which the author's reviewers are triumphantly reviewed. 

«&§"• The Supplement will be furnished separate to those who have the original work. 

INFLUENCE OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE UPON 
INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. By William Whewell, D. D., 

of Trinity College, Cambridge, Eng., and the alleged author of 
"Plurality of Worlds." 16mo, cloth. 25 cts. 

ROGET'S THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS. A 

New and Improved Edition. 12mo, cloth. 81.50. 

This edition is based on the last London edition (just issued). The first Ameri- 
can edition having been prepared by Dr. Sears, for strictly educational pub- 
poses, those words and phrases properly termed "vulgar," incorporated into the 
original work, were omitted. Kegret having been expressed by critics and scholars, 
whose opinions are entitled to respect, at this omission, in the present new edition 
the expurgated portions have been restored, but by such an arrangement of matter 
as not to interfere with the educational purposes of the American editor. Besides 
this, there are important additions of words and phrases not in the 
English edition, making this, therefore, in all respects, more full and perfect 

THAN THE AUTHOR'S EDITION. 

THE LANDING AT CAPE ANNE ; or, The Charter op 
the First Permanent Colony on the Territory op the 
Massachusetts Company. Now discovered and first published 
from the original manuscript, with an inquiry into its authority, 
and a History op the Colony, 1624-1628. Roger Conant, Gover- 
nor. By John Wingate Thornton. 8vo, cloth. $1.50. 

This is a curious and exceedingly valuable historical document. 

"A volume of great interest and importance." — Evening Traveller. 

THE AIMWELL STORIES. 

A series of volumes illustrative of youthful character, and combining 
Instruction with Amusement. By Walter Aimwell, author of 
" The Boy's Own Guide," " The Boy's Book of Morals and Manners," 
&c. With numerous Illustrations. 

The first three volumes of the series, now ready, are — 
OSCAR ; or, The Boy who had his own Way. 16mo, cl., gt. 63 cts. 
CLINTON; or, Boy-Lipe in the Country. 16mo, cloth, gilt. 63 cts. 
ELLA ; or, Turning oyer a New Leap. 16mo, cloth, gilt. 63 cts. 

KF" Each volume -will be complete and independent of itself, but the series will be 
connected by a partial identity of character, localities, &c. (n) 



AMOS LAWRENCE. 



DIARY AND CORRESPONDENCE OP THE LATE 
AMOS LAWREXCE ; with a brief account of some Incidents in 
his Life. Edited by his son, William R. Lawrence, M. D. With 
fine steel Portraits of Amos and Abbott Lawrence, an Engraving 
of their Birth-place, a Fac-simile page of Mr. Lawrence's Hand- 
writing. Octavo, cloth, §1.50. Eoyal duodecimo edition, §1.00. 

This work was first published in an elegant octavo volume, and sold at the unu- 
sually low price of $1 .50. At the solicitation of numerous benevolent individuals who 
were desirous of circulating the work — so remarkably adapted to do good, especially 
to young men— gratuitously, and of giving those of moderate means, of every 
class, an opportunity of possessing it, the royal duodecimo, or "cheap edition," 
was issued, varying from the other edition, only in a reduction in the size (allowing 
less margin), and the thickness of the paper. 

Within six months after the first publication of this work, twenty-two thous- 
and copies had been sold. It is the memoir of a Boston merchant, who became dis- 
tinguished for his great wealth, but more distinguished for the manner in which he 
used it. It is the memoir of a man, who commencing business with only $20, gave 
away in public and private charities, during his lifetime, more, probably, than 
any other person in America. 

" We heard it once said in the pulpit, ' There is no work of art like a noble life,' 
and for that reason he who has achieved one takes rank with the great artists, and 
becomes the world's property. We are proud of this book. We are willing 

TO LET IT GO FORTH TO OTHER LANDS ASA SPECIMEN OF WHAT AMERICA CAN 

produce. In the old world, reviewers have called Barnum the characteristic Amer- 
ican man. We are willing enough to admit that he is a characteristic American 
man ; he is one fruit of our soil, but Amos Lawrence is another. Let our country 
have credit for him also. The good effect which this Life may have in 

DETERMINING THE COURSE OF YOUNG MEN TO HONOR AND VIRTUE IS INCAL- 
CULABLE." — Mrs. Stowe, in N. Y. Independent. 

" This book, besides being of a different class from most Biographies, has another 
peculiar charm. It shows the inside life of the man. You have, as it were, a peep 
behind the curtain, and see Mr. Lawrence as he went in and out among business 
men, as he appeared on 'Change, as he received his friends, as he poured out, ' with 
liberal hand and generous heart,' his wealth for the benefit of others, as he received 
the greetings and salutations of children, and as he appeared in the bosom of his 
family, at his own hearth-stone." — Brunswick Telegraph. 

" We are glad to know that our large business houses are purchasing copies of this 
work for each of their numerous clerks. As a business man, Mr. Lawrence was a 
pattern for the young clerk." — Boston Traveller. 

" We are thankful for the volume before us. It exhibits a charity noble and active, 
while the young merchant was still poor. And above all, it reveals to us a beautiful 
cluster of sister graces, a keen sense of honor, integrity which never knew the 
shadow of suspicion, candor in the estimate of character, filial piety, rigid fidelity in 
every domestic relation." — North American Review. 

" We are glad that American Biography has been enriched by such a contribution 
to its treasures. In all that composes the career of • the good man ' and the practical 
Christian, we have read few memoirs more full of instruction, or richer in lessons 
of wisdom and virtue." — National Intelligencer. 

" A more beautifully printed volume, or one calculated to do more good, has not 
been issued from the press of late years." — Evening Gazette. 

" This volume has been read with the deepest interest. It will be widely circulated, 
will certainly prove a standard work, and be read over and over again."— Boston 
2>aily Advertiser. (p) 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS, 



HISTORY OF CHURCH MUSIC IN AMERICA. Treating of 
its peculiarities at different periods ; its legitimate use and its 
abuse ; with Criticisms, Cursory Remarks, and Notices relating 
to Composers, Teachers, Schools, Choirs, Societies, Conventions, 
Books, etc. By Nathaniel D. Could, Author of " Social Har- 
mony," " Church Harmony," etc. 12mo, cloth. 75 cents. 

j&g=- Tins work will be found to contain a vast fund of information, wjth much 
that is novel, amusing and instructive. In giving a minute hisxory of Church 
Music for the past eighty years, there are interspersed throughout the volume 
many interesting incidents, and numerous anecdotes concerning Ministers, 
Composers, Teachers, Performers and Performances, Societies, Choirs, &c. 

COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF WILLIAM COWPER ; 

with a Life and Critical Notices of his Writings. With elegant 
new Illustrations on steel. 16mo, cl.,$1.00; fine cl., gilt, $1.25. 

POETICAL WORKS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. With Life 
and elegant Illustrations on steel. 16mo, cloth, $1.00 ; fine 
cloth, gilt, $1.25. 

MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS. With Life and elegant Illus- 
trations. 16mo, cloth, $1.00 ; fine cloth, gilt, $1.25. In pre^s 

4^=- The above poetical works, by standard authors, are all of uniform size anel 
style, printed on -fine paper, froin ciear, distinct type, with new and elegant 
Illustrations, richly bound in full gilt, and plain ; which, with the exceedingly 
low price at which they are offered, render them the most desirable of any of 
the numerous editions of these authors' works now in the market. 

rnited States Exploring Expedition. — Volume XII. 

MOLLUSCA AND SHELLS. By Augustus A. Could, M. D 
One elegant quarto volume,, cloth. $6.00. 

THE TWO RECORDS; the Mosaic and the Geological. By 
Hugh Miller. 16mo, cloth. 25 cents. 
4£g=" No work by Hugh Miller needs commendation to insure purchasers. 

NOAH AND HIS TIMES ; embracing various inquiries relative 
to the Ante-diluvian and earlier Post-diluvian Periods, with Dis- 
cussions of several of the leading questions of the present time. 
By Rev. J. Munsox Olmstead. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

PARISIAN PASTOR'S GLANCE AT AMERICA. By T. H. 

Grand Pierre, D.D., Pastor of the Reformed Church, and Direc 
tor of the Missionary Institution in Paris. 16mo, clo;h. 50 cts. 

The author of this volume is one of the most eminent ministers now living 
of the Reformed Church of France. He is distinguished as a preacher and a 
wrHer -, as a man of large and liberal views, of earnest piety, of untiring in ius 
try, and of commanding influence. His statements are characterized by great 
noTsctness as well as great candor. — Puritan Recorder ( j) 



WORKS BY DR. WEEDIE. 



GLAD TIDINGS ; or, The Gospel of Peace. A series of Daily 
Meditations for Christian Disciples. By Rev. V. K. Tweedie, 
D. D. With an elegant Illustrated Title-page. 16mo, cloth. 
63 cents. 

These meditations, though brief, are comprehensive and weighty. It is re- 
markable for condensation, for a deep evangelical tone, and for putting itself 
into direct contact with the conscience and the heart. — Albany Argus. 

We heartily rash this little book were in every Christian family, and could 
be carefully read through by every Christian. —X. Y. Evangelist. 

This sweet little volume challenges our warmest commendation. Every 
page glows with Christian example and goodness. The perusal of one chapter 
will awake a keener relish for the commencement of another. The Frontispiece, 
representing the shepherds' watch of their flocks by night, is sublimely beauti- 
ful. — La wre nee Co u r ier. 

A LA^IP TO THE PATH ; or, the Bible in the Heart, the 
Home, and the Market-place. With an elegant Illustrated 
Title-page. 16mo, cloth. C3 cents. 

The power, the beauty, and the necessity of religion in the heart, the home, 
the workshop, the market-place, the professions, and in social intercourse, are 
happily illustrated. It is a jewel, and should enrich every family library. The 
last chapter is worthy of being engraven, as with the point of a diamond, on 
every human heart. — Southern Literary Messenger. 

This little volume brings Christianity home to the bosoms and business of 
men. It is a lucid, impressive, and beautiful exposition of Christian obliga- 
tions. — Albany Argus. 

SEED-TIME AND HARVEST ; or, Sow Well and Reap Well. 
A Book for the Young. With an elegant Illustrated Title-page. 
16mo, cloth. 63 cents. 

An excellent book, more particularly designed for young readers ; but persons 
of all ages may derive pleasure and profit from its perusal. —X T. Commercial. 

Xo person can read it attentively, without feeling that there is an importance 
attached even to what seem to be his most indifferent actions. — Puritan Rec. 

A most precious volume this to the young, taking their first step and first look 
in life ; teaching them that if they would reap well, they must sow well ; that 
if they would enjoy an old age of honor, they must be trained in youth to vir- 
tue. — Dr. Sprague, Albany Spectator. 

THE MORN OF LIFE ; or, Examples of Female Excellence. 
A Book for Young Ladies. 16roo, cloth. In press. 

M^=- The above works, by Dr. Tweedie, are of uniform size and style. They 
are most charming, pious, and instruc +1 ve works, beautifully gotten up, and 
well adapted for " gift-books." 

FAMILY WORSHIP ; or, the Morning and Evening Sacrifice. 
One volume. Octavo, cloth. In press. (h) 



IMPORTANT NEW WORKS. 

YAHVEH CHRIST, or the Memorial j^ame. By Alexander 
Mac Whorter, Yale University. With an Introductory Letter, by 
Nathaniel W. Taylor, D. D., Dwight Professor of Didactic Theology, 
Yale Theological Seminary. 16mo, cloth, 62 cents. 

The object of this work is to show that a most important error has hitherto been 
entertained respecting the Hebrew word given as " Jehovah," in the Old Testament. 
The author shows, by a historic-philological argument, that it was not " Jehovah," 
but Yahveh, — that it does not mean " I am " (self-existence), but " He who Will 
Be, or Come" (The Deliverer) ; in short, that the "Jehovah" of the Old Testa- 
ment, and the " Christ" of the New, denote one and the same being. 

Extract from Dr. Taylor's Introductory Letter. — The argument is 
altogether new and original ; and if valid proves what many of the ablest theologians 
have believed, without resting their belief on grounds so thoroughly exegetical. It 
raises a question to be met wherever the Bible is read, — a question in respect to a 
fact which it would seem, if not admitted, must at least be controverted. The 
view here taken is too plausible to be passed over with indifference by the friends 
of truth ; if true, it is of unmeasured importance to the Church and to the world. 

The book is an intensely interesting one ; rich in suggestions, and presenting in 
its main topic a subject that is deserving of thorough investigation. — Chicago 
Christian Times. 

This volume is destined at least to awaken thought and attention. The argu- 
ment shows great probability, and is worth a serious attention. If his position could 
be demonstrated it would be one of vast importance to theology, and would give 
in some sense a new face to the Old Testament. It is written in a form to be under- 
stood by all readers.— Puritan Recorder. 

It is refreshing in these days of many books, to fall in with an original work, lay- 
ing open a new vein of thought, and leading the student to a novel train of investi- 
gation. Mr. MacWhorter is entitled to this rare distinction, for his conclusions will 
be entirely new to the large body of American scholars. It is marked by great 
thoroughness, ripe scholarship, and eminent candor, and written, too, in an animated 
and flowing style. We anticipate that the work must create a profound sensation 
in the theological world, for its conclusions are tenable ; it puts at rest forever all 
doubts of the Divinity of Christ.— Watchman and Reflector. 

HEAVEN. By James William Klmball. "With elegant 
illustrated title page. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. 

Prof. Huntington, Ed. of the Religious Magazine.— One is surprised at 
the mental discipline, the variety of inform tion, an the measure of literary skill 
evinced. 

Full of beautiful ideas, consoling hopes, and brilliant representations of human 
destiny, all presented in a chaste, pleasing, readable style. — N. Y. Chronicle. 

There is an air of freshness and originality about it, that will render it interesting 
even to some whose spirits have not caught the upward tendency.— Puritan Bec. 

This is a-delightful volume, possessing peculiar interest. — N. E. Farmer. 

We welcome this contribution to our religious literature, from the open pen of 
a Christian merchant. Free from pedantry and the conventionalities of logic and 
of style, it comes to us with a freshness of thought and a fervor of feeling that are 
often wanting in the scholar's page. — N. Y. Independent. 

The author is certainly an independent thinker, as well as a vigorous writer, and 
has written a book that will please the thoughtful, and will astonish pious people, 
who seldom, and always timidly, think. Everything about the work is fresh and 
racy. We admire him intensely, and bid him God speed. — Western Literary 
Messenger. (w) 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 



THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, as exhibited in the 
writings of its apologists, down to Augustine, by W. J. 15olton. 
of GonvUle and Caius College, Cambridge. 12mo, cloth. 80 eta. 

This volume received the Hulsean prize (about $500) i t England. The author 
Is evidently a very learned student of the patristic writings and the whole circle 
of ecclesiastical history. He has presented to the world in this essay an adml* 
rable compendium of the arguments for the truth of Christianity advanced in 
the works of the Apologetic Fathers during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries 
of the Christian era. These arguments are classified as being deduced from 
antecedent probability, from antiquity, from prophecy, from miracles, from the 
reasonableness of doctrine, from superior morality, and from the success of the 
Gospel. — If. T. Commercial. 

We thankfully accept such an effort as this of a profound and highly-cultivated 
mind. — Puritan Recorder. 

The work bears the marks of great research, and must command the attention 
and confidence of the Christian world. — Mercantile Journal. 

THE BETTER LAND ; or, Thoughts on Heaven. By A C. 
Thompson, Pastor of the Eliot Church, Roxbury. 12mo, cloth. 
$1.00. Just published. 

THE MISSION OF THE COMFORTER; with copious Notes. 
By Julius Charles Hare. Notes translated for the American 
edition. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

Rich in spirituality, strong and sound in theology, comprehensive in thought, 
vigorous and beautiful in imagination, affluent in learning. — Congregationalism 

We hare seldom read a book with greater interest. — JV. Y. Evingelist. 

The volume is of rare value, and will be welcomed as an eloquent and Scriptu* 
ral exposition of some of the fundamental doctrines of our faith. — N. T.Recorder 

THE VICTORY OF FAITH. By Julius Charles Hare, author 
of " The Mission of the Comforter," etc. 12mo, cloth. In press. 

FIRST LINES OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. In the form cf 
a Syllabus, for the use of Students. Royal octavo. $5.00. 

X£g- A most important work for ministers and theological students. 

THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, and thtir relations to 
Christianity. By Frederick Denison Maurice, A. M., Profe* 
sor of Divinity in King's College, London. 16mo, clott.. 60 cfcs 

The effort is masterly, and, in any event, must prove highly interesting by the 
omparisons which it institutes with the false and the true. — Method. Quarterly. 

8UIDO AND JULIUS. The Doctrine of Sin and the Pro- 
pitiator ; or, the True Consecration of the Doubter. By F. Aug 
O. Tholuch, D.D. Translated by Jonathan Edwards Ryland 
Introduction by John Pye Smith, D.D. 16mo, cloth. 60 cts 

4®" rre-eminently a book for the iimos — full of interest, and of great p<. we* 



VALUABLE WORKS. 



THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR ; or, Meditations on this 
Last Dats of Christ. By Fred. TV. Kruxmacher, D.D., Chap- 
lain to tke King of Prussia, and author of " Elijah the Tishbite," etc. 
Translated under the express sanction of the author, by Samuel 
Jackson. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

The style of the author need not be described to those who have read his 'Elijah ? 
and whoever has not read an evangelical book of our own time that has passed through 
many editions in German, English, French, Dutch, Danish, had better order the 
Chinese edition, which has recently appeared, * * * "We like the book — love 
it, rather — for the vivid perception and fervid emotion with which it brings us to 
the Suffering Saviour." — New York Independent. 

" Krummacher is himself again 1 Till the present work appeared, he had done 
nothing equal to his first one, ' Elijah, the Tishbite.' In the present he comes upon, 
the literary firmament in his old fire and glory, ' like a re-appearing star.' The trans- 
lator has done his work admirably. * * * Much of the narrative is given with thril- 
ling vividness, and pathos, and beauty. Marking as we proceeded, several passages 
for quotation, we found them in the end so numerous, that we must refer the reader 
to the work itself."— News of the Churches (Scottish). 

THE PROGRESS OF BAPTIST PRINCIPLES IN THE 
LAST HUNDRED YEARS. By T. F. Curtis, Professor of Theol- 
ogy in Lewisburg University, Pa. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

This work is divided into three books. The first exhibits the progress of Baptist 
Principles, now conceeded in theory by the most enlighted of other denominations. 

The second presents a view of the progress of principles still controverted. 

The third sets forth the progress of principles always held by evangelical Chris- 
tians, but more consistently by Baptists. 

It is a work that invites the candid consideration of all denomitions. The aim has 
been to draw a wide distinction between parties and opinions. Hence the object of 
this volume is not to exhibit or defend the Baptists, but their principles." 

" The principles referred to are such as these : Freedom of conscience and Sepa- 
ration of Church and State ; a Converted Church Membership ; Sacraments inoper- 
ative without Choice and Faith ; Believers the only Scriptural Subjects of Baptism ; 
Immersion always the Baptism of the New Testament ; Infant Baptism Injurious ; 
Open Communion Unwise and Injurious. To show the progress of these principles, 
statistics are given, from which we learn that in 1792 there was but one Baptist Com- 
municant in the United States to every fifty-six inhabitants, while in 1854 there was 
one to every thirty inhabitants. Tne Baptists have more than one quarter of the 
whole Church accommodation in the United States. * * * The entire work is writ- 
ten with ability and unfailing good temper."— Quarterly Journal American 
Unitarian Association. 

"The good temper of the author of this volume is obvious ; the method of arrang- 
ing his materials for effect admirable." — Presbyterian. 

" We know of no man in our Churches better fitted to prepare a fair exhibition of 
'Baptist Principles.' He is no controversialist; and his discussions are inmost 
refreshing contrast with many, both of Baptist defenders and their opponents." — 
Southern Baptist. 

*' The work exhibits ample learning, vigorous argumentative power, and an excel- 
lent spirit toward those whose views it controverts. Apart from its theological bear- 
ings, it possesses not a little historical interest."— N. Y. Tribune. 

" The aim of the work is important, the plan ingenious, yet simple and natural, 
the author's preparation for it apparently thorough and conscientious, and his spirit 
excellent.''— Watchman and Reflector. (*0 



MODERN ATHEISM. 

Under its Forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Deve- 
lopment, and Natural Laws. By James Buchanak, D.D., LL.D. 

12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

The Author of this work is the successor of Dr. Chalmers in the Chair of 
Divinity in the New College, Edinburgh, and the intellectual leader of the Scottish 
Free Church. 

Hugh Miller, Author of "Old Red Sandstone," &c, &c. — The work 
is one of the most readable and solid which we have ever perused. 

The "News of the Churches."— It is a work of which nothing less can be 
said, than that, both in spirit and substance, style and argument, it fixes irrever- 
sibly the name of the author as a leading classic in the Christian literature of Britain. 

Howard Malcom, D.D., President of Lewisburg University. — I have 
found no work so helpful to me as this as a teacher of metaphysics and morals. I 
know of nothing which will answer for a substitute. The public specially need 
such a book at this time when atheism is being spread abroad with all earnest- 
ness, supported, at least in some places, both by church influence and university 
honors. I cannot but hope that a work so timely, scholarly, and complete, will do 
much good. 

One of the most scholarly and profound productions of modern Christian litera- 
ture.— Worcester Transcript. 

Dr. Buchanan has earned a high and well-deserved reputation as a classical writer 
and close logical reasoner. He deals heavy, deadly blows on atheism in all its 
various forms. — Christian Secretary. 

His analyses of the doctrines held by the various schools of modern atheism 
are admirable, and his criticism original and profound. It is an attractive as well 
as a solid book ; and he who peruses a few of its pages is, as it were, irresistibly 
drawn on to a thorough reading of the book.— Boston Portfolio. 

The style is very felicitous, and the reasoning clear and cogent. The opposing 
theories are fairly 6tated and combated with remarkable ease and skill. Even 
when the argument falls within the range of science, it is so happily stated that 
no intelligent reader can fail to understand it. — Boston Journal. 

It is justly described as " a great argument," " magnificent in its strength, order, 
and beauty," in a defence of truth and against the variant theories of atheism. 
It reviews the doctrines of the different schools of modern Atheism, gives a fair 
statement of their theories, answers and refutes them, never evading, but meeting 
and crushing their arguments. — Phila. Christian Observer. 

Dr. Buchanan is candid and impartial, evades no argument, undertakes no oppos- 
ing view, but meets his antagonists with the quiet and unswerving confidence of a 
locomotive on iron tracks, pretty sure to crush them.— Christian Register. 

We hail this production of a master mind as a lucid, vigorous, discriminating, 
and satisfactory refutation of the various false philosophies which have appeared in 
modern times to allure ingenuous youth to their destruction. His refutation is a 
clear stream of light from beginning to end. — Phila. Presbyterian. 

We recommend "Modern Atheism" as a book for the times, and as having 
special claims on theological students. — Universalis! Quarterly. 

It is remarkable for the clearness with which it apprehends and the fairness 
with which it states, not less than for the ability with which it replies to, the schemes 
of unbelief in its various modern forms. It clears away, one by one, the mists which 
the Devil has conjured around the great doctrines of our Faith, by the help of 
some of his ingenious modern coadjutors, and leaves the truth of God standing in 
its serene and pristine majesty— Congregationalist. 

The work is a masterly defence of faith against dogmatic unbelief on the one 
kaud, and that universal skepticism on the other. — N. Y. Christian Ciieon icle. 



IMPORTANT NEW WORKS. 



THE CHRISTIAN LIFE : Social and Individual. By Peter 

Batke, A. M. 121HO, cloth. $1.25. 

Contents. Part I. — Statement. The Individual Life ; the Social Life. Part 
II. — Exposition and Illustration. First Principles ; Howard, and the rise of 
Philanthropy ; Wilberforce, and the development of Philanthropy ; Budgett, the 
Christian Freeman ; the social problem of the age, and one or two hints towards its 
solution ; Modern Doubt ; John Foster ; Thomas Arnold ; Thomas Chalmers. Part 
ILL — Outlook. The Positive Philosophy ; Pantheistic Spiritualism. 

Particular attention is invited to this work. Its recent publication in Scotland pro- 
iuced a great sensation. Hugh Miller made it the subject of an elaborate review in 
his paper, the Edinburgh " Witness," and gave his readers to understand that it was 
an extraordinary work. The " News of the Churches," the monthly organ of the 
Scottish Free Church, was equally emphatic in its praise, pronouncing it "the relig- 
ious book of the season." Strikingly original in plan and brilliant in execution, it far 
surpasses the expectations raised by the somewhat familiar title. It is, in truth, a 
bold onslaught (and the first of the kind) upon the Pantheism of Carlyle, Ficbte, etc., 
by an ardent admirer of Carlyle ; and at the same time an exhibition of the Christian 
Life, in its inner principle, and as illustrated in the lives of Howard, "Wilberforce, 
Budgett, Foster, Chalmers, etc. The brilliancy and vigor of the author's style are 
remarkable. 

PATRIARCHY ; ob, The Family : its Constitution and 
Probation. By John Harris, D. D., President of " New College, " 
London, and author of "The Great Teacher," "Mammon," etc. 
12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

The public are here presented with a work on a subject of universal interest, by 
one of the most able and popular living authors. It is a work that should Unci a place 
in every family, containing, as it does, a profound and eloquent exposition of the 
constitution, laws, and history of the Family, as well as much important instruction 
and sound advice, touching the family, family government, family education, etc., 
of the present time. 

This is the third and last of a series, by the same author, entitled " Contributions 
to Theological Science." The plan of this series is highly original, and thus far has 
been mest successfully executed. Of the first two in the series, " Pre- Adamite 
Earth," and " Man Primeval," we have already issued four and five editions, and the 
demand still continues. The immense sale of all Dr. Harris's works attest their in- 
trinsic popularity. 

" The present age has not produced his superior as an original, stirring, elegant 
waiter." — Philadelphia Christian Chronicle. 

GOD REVEALED IN NATURE AND IN CHRIST; 

Including a Refutation of the Development Theory contained in the 
• "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation." By the author of 

" The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation." 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

The author of that remarkable book, " The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation," 
has devoted several years of incessant labor to the preparation of this work. It fur- 
nishes a new, and, as it is conceived, a conclusive argument against the "develop- 
ment theory" so ingeniously maintained in the " Vestiges of the Natural History of 
Creation." As this author does not publish except when he has something to say, 
there is good reason to anticipate that the work will be one of unusual interest and 
value. His former book has met with the most signal success in both hemispheres, 
having passed through numerous editions in England and Scotland, and been trans- 
lated into four of the European languages besides- V is^iso about to be translated 
into the Hindostanee tongue. (iii) 



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151) 



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(46) 



(BIO GRAPHICAL.) 



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U5) 



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